'Quack!' said JerushaQuack Said Joshua is the title of one story in a book of
children's stories. If my memory serves me right the book
had a green hardbacked cover. But I don't know the title of
the book. I remember that the illustration on the last page
of the story was a duck carrying a basket of potatoes and the duck
was tumbling down a hill. This story holds a lot of memories
for me and I would be so grateful to locate this book or any book
that has this particular story in it.

I'm not sure of the name of the book you're
looking for, but I think the duck's name is Jerusha.Q4 quack: can't identify the anthology yet,
but the story mentioned is 'Quack!' said Jerusha,
by Mildred Plew Merryman, published Sears 1920s?, "an
infectious nonsense in verse."---It was a story of Jerusha the duck who lived in a barnyard with
other animals and had an identity crisis, or got lost. She went
around the barnyard spending time with each of the animals
saying "I think I am a cow....I think I am a pig...." I
remember it it as a short story inside a larger book of
children's stories from the 1950's. The most vivid memory
is from the end of the story when the little duck, after
comparing herself to other farm animals throughout the
barnyard, proclaims "Quack," said Jerusha, "I think I am a
duck." It sounds a bit like "The Ugly Duckling" it is not.

It's a hard book to find, but it's already on Solved Mysteries: 'Quack!'
said Jerusha, by Mildred Plew Merryman,
published Sears 1920s?, "an infectious nonsense in verse." My mom has a copy of this. It was my
favorite. It is not nonsense, but a darling story of
a baby duck who has some cute adventures and grows up to meet
her mate and have little duckies of her own! Great rhymes.I also remember Jerusha the duck. It
was in a book of stories for children published by Whitman
Publishing Co., Racine Wisconsin, perhaps in the 1950's. My aunt
worked there, but I do not know the title of the book. I would
like to find that book.Hey!! Thanks to a highly detailed and
footnoted scientific paper(which quoted from "Jerusha" in a
chapter heading!), have found the following citation:"Children's Stories" , pub.
Whitman Publishing Company, Racine, WI, 1950, pp.117-136
Author: Mildred Plew Merryman, sometimes listed as MeigsMildred Plew Merryman, Quack! said Jerusha, 1930,
copyright. Sear Publishing is correct - but the copyright
date is 1930. I have an author signed copy right in front of me!
It was illustrated by Mary
Phipps and is orange in color. The illustrations are
absolutley wonderful! It even shows Jerusha's wedding! I just
obtained this book at an auction. Watch Ebay - it may show up
there...

Et les Quatres SaisonsRead this in South Africa, in the
early nineties. It could have been older. Don't know origin. Was
about a doll who went on some sort of adventure & was
illustrated with PHOTOS. I'm quite sure this is NOT The Lonely
Doll, 'my' book was in colour. I distinctly remember the doll
standing in snow.

Sounds
like
Lona: A Fairy Tale by Dare
Wright, who also
wrote The Lonely Doll. The doll's adventures are shown in
beautiful color photographs. Hard to find and expensive- I
eventually got a battered ex-library copy for a reasonable
price. Remise,
Jac, Ababella: a story of a
doll,1979,
copyright. translation of a french title "Marie-Stephanie et les
quatres saison" which suggest it may have pictures in the snow.

Jac Remise,
Marie-Stéphanie et les
quatres saisons. Wow, I can't believe you found it already! As soon as I
googled that book and saw some pictures I was pretty sure that's
what it was, after asking my mum she said it was definitely that
book. Apparently I read it when I was 2-3 years old, incredible
that it stayed with me for so long... Do you have any idea where
I could buy it? Thanks so so much though!Well, actually, I just want to
send a second e-mail to tell you how INCREDIBLY happy I am that
I finally found the answer to this. It's been bugging me for
years, especially because I had so very little to go on... And
to be honest, I thought it was a long shot that someone would be
able to solve it, especially because I read it in South Africa.
I couldn't remember if it had words or not, and then there was
the question if it was in Afrikaans or English (not my native
language, but I did read in it). Actually I already found a copy
on a local second hand site as well, could it get any better!
That book always made me feel so strange, a bit scared and
intrigued at the same time, seeing those pictures evoke those
feelings all over again. So thanks again, it really means a lot
to me. I'm so glad I somehow found my way to your website!

Queen
Anne's LaceI read this book in the early 1970's. The genre was
probably more young adult than children's. It had a blue or
blue/green dust jacket with a white building that I think was a
church. The book was a mystery and it had references to the
flower Queen Anne's Lace in it and it's possible that the dust
jacket had Queen Anne's lace on it also. I don't remember
specific character names but the main character was a young female
who was attempting to solve a mystery that involved the
church/white building. Also, involved searching through local
woods, etc. The book was mysterious and after reading it I
still had many unanswered questions.

I'm pretty sure I've read this too--it was
the first time I learned that the root of Queen Anne's Lace is
poisonous. Mary Downing Hahn comes to mind, but I'm not
certain that she was writing that early. Most of her books
do feature adolescent girls and abandoned buildings, though.Queen Anne's Laceby Frances Parkinson Keyes.

Queen
of SpellsI'm looking for a young adult type book
about a girl who lives on a farm--she wakes up on her birthday,
when she's allowed to sleep an extra hour, but she hears her
mother complaining that she's lazy and her Dad trying to defend
her and it stresses her out so she gets out of bed anyway.
Somehow she meets a fairy-man, who promises that he'll come back
for her in 7 days, but in fairyland each day is one mortal year,
so he comes back 7 years later. They make love and she
becomes pregnant, but some Evil Queen has him or
something. Her Dad is very upset and lines up all the
helpers on the farm and tells her to just point him out so they
can get married, but she won't say who got her pregnant.
Her Dad dies. She goes to a carnival or something and
rescues her lover from the Evil Queen by holding tight onto him
even when he turns into a snake.

#B231--Birthday farmgirl pregnant by elf
lover: If you go to the reference page at the Tam Lin site,
by reading descriptions of titles listed there, you can find the
ballad on which the story is based and at least determine books
it isn't.Dahlov Ipcar, The Queen of Spells, 1973. A young girl, Janet meets Tom Linn
in an old abandoned farmhouse surrounded by roses, and she
plights her troth to him. He promises to return when she
is grown-up, in seven days. He returns in seven years, and
she becomes pregnant. He is not a free man, though, having
been captured by the Queen of Spells when he fell off his horse
as a boy, and he became the Queen's Knight of Roses. On
Halloween, he will ride in her entourage, and if Janet can pull
him off his horse and hold on to him no matter what he changes
into, the Queen will lose all power over him. She pulls him
down, and finds herself at a circus. She holds a serpent,
which becomes a cold iron bar, a hoop of fire, a bear, a Tarot
card, a valentine card which catches on fire, etc. She
holds on to the objects until at last he turns into burning
coals, which she throws into well water. When she comes to, she
is in a gypsy wagon, with Tom beside her. They return and
wed the next day, to discover that months have passed and her
father has died. The story is a retelling of the scottish
ballad Tam Lin.One of the many versions of Tam Lin. Several
can be ruled out: Cooper's, Pamela Dean's, Wynne Jones',
Storr's, Pope's. Can't find a description of Never
Let Go by Geraldine McCaughrean, but the
title is promising. Here's a link that
might help.Dahlov Ipcar, Queen of Spells, 1973. New York: Viking Press, 1973.
(Simultaneous publication in Canada by Macmillan)
Childrens'/Young Adult Fiction. Chapter-book set in the more
likely nineteenth century Janet is the daughter of a
land-owning farmer who gives her the abandoned house on his
property as a gift. She meets "Tom" Lynn there, and he
gifts her with roses, which she returns to pick
subsequently. Seven years pass between their first meeting
and the occasion on which Janet, then eighteen, is impregnated.
her father then, following the ballad, is both kind but
disappointed and determined to find her a mortal husband.
The unusual time-component of Tom's capture has him spending
alternating time in both the real world and faerie through his
childhood, thus allowing him to be known in Janet's community
and of her age, while having dwelt for many years as the chosen
of the Faerie Queen. Janet's Halloween rescue of Tom takes
place over the course of an entire night of nightmare images in
an otherworldly gypsy carnival, which is found to have been a
six-month period by the following "morning" Janet's father
dies during this time, allowing an element of price-paying and
darkness into the story. The ballad (Child 39 A) is
reprinted on the final pages. (C+P from the Tam Lin Pages)I can't
identify the specific book but it is clearly based on the old
Scottish folk ballad of "Tam Lin" the plot as described sounds
like a slight modernization of that of the song.This sounds like a retelling of the Tam Lin
story, although it is not the one by Pamela Dean.Jane Yolen, Tam Lin, 1990. If this isn't the Jane Yolen
version, it certainly sounds like _some_ version of "Tam Lin"
(an old Scottish ballad which has been rendered into story
numerous times -- it's not Pamela Dean's, however, so don't even
bother to go there). A description of this version:
"In this retelling of an old Scottish ballad, a Scottish lass,
on the Halloween after her sixteenth birthday, reclaims her
family home which has been held for years by the fairies, and at
the same time effects the release of Tam Lin, a human held
captive by the Queen of the Fey."

Queen Zixi of IxI read this book in the late 80s or
early 90s, but I got it from the library and I feel like it may
have been written much earlier--possibly 60s or 70s, though I'm
not sure. I remember the following details: Someone
had a magic coin purse that always had money in it. There
was a boy and girl traveling with a witch and a donkey. They
may have come across the purse at some point. There was a walled
city that they traveled through that got attacked by some strange
bulbous creatures bouncing down from the hills. The cover
may have had pictures of the creatures on it. There was a
woman (witch?) who used magic to make herself look young. I
think that the title had a made up word in it--I keep thinking of
"Quixley" and "Id", but haven't been able to come with anything
using those. Thanks!

Baum, L. Frank, Queen Zixi of Ix, 1905, copyright. You're
right about this book being older than the 80's!! It was written
near the turn of the century by the author of the Wizard of Oz
books. Dover published a paperback edition in the 70's. Bud and
his sister Fluff travel with the aid of a magic cloak. Queen Zixi
is 685 years old but looks 16. The Roly Rogues roll down from the
hills to invade the city.Baum, L. Frank, Queen
Zixi of Ix.L. Frank Baum, Queen
Zixi of Ix, 1905, approximate. Thank you so
much! That's exactly it. I'm thrilled to
finally know!

Baum, L. Frank. Queen Zixi of Ix: or
the Story of the Magic Cloak. Illustrated by Frederick
Richardson. Dover Publications, 1971.
Paperback. Front and back covers have crease marks
and spine shows signs of wear, but interior is clean and
unmarked. G, $4.

QuestThe Long Road? 1975. A very German young boy and his
teddy bear go wandering off near the Western Front in WWII.
Accidentially, he wanders across the front lines and is taken in
by some Russian soliders. Since Russians love their children too,
they take care of the boy as best they can. Eventually, however,
they must move their camp and cannot take the child with them.
They hand the boy and his teddy over to....another culture. I
think it is Mongolian horse herders of the steppes. Through the
course of the story, the boy goes to India, China, and many other
countries, experiencing all the cultures first hand. He
picks up many different things from these cultures, such as eating
oatmeal not by using a spoon, but by scooping it up with a peice
of bread. In the end, there is an ambassador (or someone)
who recognizes (in India, I think), that the boy is obviously out
of place. A search is done, and they find his mother in Germany
and ship him back there. (You never meet the mother.) The boy, now
around 12, asks, do you think I should take Teddy with me? Do you
think she will recognize me? The man answers, that yes, he should
take Teddy with him, and she will recognize them both.

Stephan Hanna, The Quest, c. 1968. (Originally published in England
and Germany under the title: The Long Way Home). "Fact-based
story of a 5-year-old German boy who is captured and adopted by
a Russian officer during World War II and spends the next nine
years wandering throughout Asia in an attempt to return home to
a mother he only vaguely remembers."I wanted to write and thank you so VERY
much. All three of the books I sent in as stumpers have been
solved. It was so fun to go to your website and check for
results - a little like waiting for Christmas. Your
service is wonderful, and I thank you a hundred times
over. The books you found for me were: O67 - "Orphan
girl" which was Faraway Dream I71 - "Indian
boy," which was Komantcia And G236 "German boy," which
was The Quest.

The Question BoxThe
book that I am attempting to locate I believe was from the 70's
or so. The book itself was a picture/children's book. It was
about this little village that had never been invaded because of
it's beautiful clock tower that warns them when any troops are
approaching. It does so by sending little clockwork people out
to clang a bell that hangs on the tower. The main
characters of the book are the clock's key keeper/cleaner, his
young daughter, and the greedy king/ruler from a neighboring
kingdom. The little girl follows her father to work while he
turns the big gold key inside the clock to keep it wound. She
finds a hidden trap door that takes her up into the inner
workings of the clock and the clockwork people. There she finds
the blueprints of the clock and how it is able to warn of
invasion, but she is being watched by a spy of the greedy king.
The spy tells the king the secret, which is pressure switches
along all the roads, and the king begins his invasion. The
little girl sees the troops from inside the tower but cannot
make the clockwork people move, so she has to find a way to ring
the bell herself and save the city. The book had wonderfully
drawn and colored pictures that took up both pages most of the
time, if I remember correctly. The book was also horizontally
long rather than tall. It also seemed as though the title didn't
really seem to have anything to do with clocks or the such. But
it may have mentioned a "secret", and was maybe a longer title?
But I am not sure. I would really love to be able to track this
book down again, and any assistance would be greatly
appreciated!!Jay Williams, The
Question Box,
1965. This is Jay Williams' 1965 book The Question Box,
illustrated by Margot Zemach. Maria is eight and always asks
questions, which prompts her mother to say, on the first page:
"Girls shouldn't ask so many questions. Just let things be!" Of
course, by the end, it turns out that it's a darn good thing Maria
IS so inquisitive, since no one else knows how to save the town -
or even how the clock works! (Jay Williams was well-known for
feminist tales.)Jay Williams
illustrated by Margot Zemach,
The Question Box, 1965.I'm pretty
sure it's The Question Box by Jay Williams. A little girl is
curious and there is a clock tower involved. I couldn't find a
description online but I read it a while back and can't remember
more about it.SOLVED: Jay Williams, The Question Box. Thank You all so much!! This is it!! I
am so excited, now I just have to track a copy down! Thank you all
so much again!!

Question of TimeSyd, a girl from NYC moves with her parents to Parkersburg at
the beginning of the summer. She is bored out of her mind
and after much prodding from her folks, she rides her bike
downtown to check out the shops. One shop she is
particularly interested in is a dollmaker's shop. Later,
she meets a girl named Laura who plays marbles on the sidewalk
all day. They become friends but Laura is very evasive
about her family and personal life. After meeting Laura,
Syd returns to the doll shop and notices that one of the dolls
looks exactly like her new friend. After doing some
research she finds that Laura and her family drowned in a
boating accident some years prior. The dollmaker is
Laura's brother who was the only one of the family who was not
involved in the accident. He goes on to make a doll in the
likeness of all his deceased family members. I read this
book in 1981 and it was purchased through Weekly Reader Books. I
seem to recall, however, that the book had a copyright date in
the 1970's. I'm not positive, but I think that the title may
have contained the words "Remembrance" "Time" or "Past";
however, this could be completely off base.S248 This is just a
shot in the dark, but the description reminded me of A

S248 This is just a shot in the dark, but
the description reminded me of A QUESTION OF TIME
by Dina Anastasio, 1978. It was also published as a
Scholastic Club book (but not a Weekly Reader). And the town is
in Minnesota. I don't remember many details, but after a young
girl moves to a small town, she becomes intrigues with carved
wooden dolls in that look like her ancestors. I can't confirm
that there's a girl ghost who plays marbles. It might be worth
looking at though. ~from a librarianS248 is NOT Bianco The doll in the
window[S248] This one rings a bell. Could the name
Laura be in the title, or Sydney?A Question of Time--that's
it!! Thank you so much as I have been looking for this
book for years.

R is
for RocketThanks so much for the help with my last
"stumper". My next stumper (and last, I think, but I will
continue to check the board to see if I can help with stumpers)
may or may not actually be written for children. It was a
required reading short story in my seventh grade - about
1976. The story centered around time
travel, and the main character was
allowed to go back into time PROVIDED he did NOT touch anything.
He was told to walk on a certain beltway they had built and that
if he stepped off the belt or did anything but observe, it would
make a change in history, and he would see the changes when he
"got back". He was sent back to an all natural time, no people,
no cities or technology, just nature. He of course did fall off
the path, and crushed and killed a butterfly. He thought this
would be of no concern, but when he "got home" he didn't even
understand the language they were speaking. End of story.
Any ideas as to what this was? It was only a short story and may
have been included in a group of others. Thanks!

T19 is the short story Sound of
Thunderit is in R is for Rocket by Ray
Bradbury and maybe other collections.T19 is a short story--The Time Machine--by
Ray Bradbury found in R is for Rocket and
probably in later collections as well. Try to find R is
for Rocket, though, because it's a very nice
selection of thought-provoking stories, crafted with care. Just
remembering it makes me want to read it again right now.

Thank you so much! I gather you don't have one for
sale. I think your site is the neatest! Will
continue to check back, meanwhile I will look for the book on
the auctions, etc. thanks again!

Rabbit
and Skunk booksI remember a book when I was young, most
likely a Parent's Magazine Press 1968 or approx. It was about a
raccoon I believe and he dressed like a ghost to scare a group
of characters called the Wiley boys or the Rowdy boys. Does this
sound familiar to anyone or am I nuts??

The person MAY be thinking of the Rabbit
and Skunk books by Carla Stevens and
illustrated by Robert Kraus. I don't which title it was
though - RABBIT & SKUNK AND SPOOKS; RABBIT AND SKUNK
AND THE SCARY ROCK and there may be others. I
wouldn't want the person to spend the money and not have it be
the right book, but maybe they can do some online searching or
ask their local library. But maybe the person can't find the
book because it's not a raccoon?
I have a copy of Rabbit and Skunk and the Big Fight,
in which Rabbit and Skunk dress up as a ghost to scare a big
woodchuck, until Rabbit plays dead and all three decide it's
better to be friends than enemies. No Rowdy boys, but
definately ghost tactics.
---I remember this at about 8 years
old; I'm 34 now, 2008. But it was at an older relative's
house, so it may have been from her children, who are approx
15-20 years older than I am. It was about an animal
(bunny?) that got a pumpkin stuck on his head. He ran
around hollering "OOOOOOOOHH" because he was scared/in pain, and
he scared everyone else. I seem to remember simple
pictures, maybe a hollowed out tree stump. He had a few
animal friends. Thanks!

Ariane, Gustaf Tenggren (illus), The Lively Little Rabbit,
1943, copyright. Possibly this one? A Little Golden Book,
reprinted many times. A squirrel, several rabbits, and an
owl disguise themselves as a dragon/monster, to frighten a
weasel who wants to eat them. They shout "Ooo! Ooo! Ooo!" in
loud voices & the owl flaps his wings, and they chase the
weasel away.Carla Stevens, Rabbit
and Skunk and Spooks, 1976, copyright.
This was part of the Rabbit and Skunk series. R and S were
friends, but they did tend to argue a lot. In this book Skunk
insists on dressing Rabbit in a ghost costume with a pumpkin
head that gets stuck on Rabbit's own head. There are a few
scares and a lot of confusion, of course everything turns out
okay. Hope this helps.I think I have the answer
to Book stumper B625! I think this person is looking
for Rabbit
and Skunk and Spooks, by Carla Stevens, pictures by Robert Kraus,
1967. Skunk brings Rabbit a pumpkin to wear on his
head for a Halloween costume and it gets stuck. Hope
this is the right one!I sent in Stumper B625, and 2 people have the
answer! Rabbit
and Skunk and Spooks is totally it! I
found a picture on the internet and confirmed it.
Thanks so much for this fabulous resource! I am SO
excited!

Rabbit HillI am looking for a children's book, circa
1950 which had a blind mole. It won a Caldecott.

Checking lists of Caldecott : nearest one
so far: 1993 Honor bk Seven Blind Mice by Ed
Young (Philomel Books)Could this be a version of Thumbelina?
A blind mole is part of the story.Could it be the 1943 Newbery winner, Have
you
Seen Tom Thumb?kenneth grahame, Wind in the Willows,
1908. I know it's
the wrong year, but definitely has a blind mole.Robert Lawson, Rabbit Hill, 1944. This won the Newbery, not the
Caldecott, but it does seem to fit the description. There is a
Mole character in it, who is blind, along with a lot of other
animals most of them have names but he is just referred to as
The Mole.Jim Moran, Sophocles the Hyena, 1954. There is a blind mole in this story
named Miff who plays the bagpipes anthologized in the
series Best in Children's Books).The name of the book I remembered was Rabbit
Hill. Thank you to your helpers.

Rabbit Islandlate 70's early 80's. I am looking
for a beautiful picture book about two rabbits who are living in
a factory or some sort of laboratory. The book had illustrations
of the cages inside the factory as well as the ventilation
system that the rabbits escape out of. There are at least two
rabbits who escape, one young and one older. Once they get
outside the older rabbit is frightened and decides to return to
the factory.

ooooo, I remember this one... A slick North-South
publication perhaps, or akin to Gregoire Solotareff's Don't
Call Me Little Bunny (also a great book along these
bizarre lines, but not the one you're looking
for). I'll keep thinking. B361 ??? Lloyd, David
Thomas the rabbit Barbara
Firth Scholastic
1985 escapes - juvenile fiction; rabbits.Steiner, Jorg, Rabbit Island, Bergy Pub. Group, 1984. "Follows the
adventures of two rabbits after they escape from the rabbit
factory."

The Rabbits' CarnivalIt is a picture book that I read
in my childhood during the mid '90s, although it's possible that
it was a hand-me-down and was written earlier than that. It's
about a carnival/fairgrounds that has been abandoned by humans,
but animals take over it at night. I think this
might happen only one night every summer when the
animals take over it. There was an old rabbit/hare handyman who
would shine up the carousel horses and he would also fix up all
the rides. Then all the animals would come out and go to the
fair and eat popcorn and icecream and ride the ferris wheel,
etc. At the end of the book, it says something like, if you're
lucky on one summer night you might be able to see the fair, and
there's a picture of two(?) human children standing on a hill
that is overlooking the carnival.

Annie Ingle, The Rabbits' Carnival, 1995. ISBN-10: 0679853375.
My sister figured it out! I don't know how she did it!

Rabbit's
Revenge1950s? A story about how rabbits dig lots
of burrows to divert the river, and the flooding river washes
away their enemy, Old Man Shivers, who likes to shoot rabbits.
He floats away down the river in his longjohns, yelling....

Wiese, Kurt, The Rabbit's Revenge,
Coward-McCann, 1940. Old Man
Shivers planned on killing rabbits for a coat. The rabbits
found out and made a plan to stop him. The rabbits, with
the help of nature, caused the old man's house to float away and
they never saw him again.

Rabbit's
WeddingI'm looking for a children's book I believe is from the forties.
I don't know the title but the story concerned two families of brown and white bunnies.
I believe the title had "bunny" in it but I'm not sure. There was
a little white bunny named Rosie who got lost and was helped by a
family of brown bunnies. It was a book about tolerance and at one
point there is a picture of the two bunny families at a huge table
having a picnic. This was my favorite childhood book (my brother
remembers it too) and I would love to find a copy of it. Thank
you.

I think this is Garth Williams' The Rabbit's Wedding, a
classic early children's book of racial tolerance. I'll hunt for a
copy for you.H. A. Rey & Margaret Rey, Spotty, 1954. Under the heading
Rabbit's Wedding, a book illustrated by Garth Williams was
suggested as the answer to a question about a rabbit named
Spotty and his sister, a white rabbit named Rosie. The correct
answer is the delightful "Spotty" by the Reys. It is
indeed a non-preachy book about discrimination and the key
line - "'I LIKE Spotty,'" said Rosie" - became a family
saying at our house.

Race Against
TimeTwo children are living in a town, and everyone around them
including parents, friends, etc . . . are pretending their
roles. If I remember correctly, the children think that
their reality is accurate, and they are not aware of the ruse, but
eventually find out, and set out to escape. I do not
remember if they are humans and everyone else is alien, or if the
others are human, but just trying to keep the kids captive by
creating this elaborate ruse. I believe they are a brother
and sister. This is a children's book/ young adult, and I
read this in the early 1980's, but not sure if it is from that era
or not.

This sounds a lot to me like Running out of Time
by Margaret Peterson Haddix, in which a young girl named
Jessie discovers that her 1840's town is a reconstructed village
in a museum for tourists. That book was published in 1995,
though, so it's probably too late to be your book. I think
it's worth reading anyway, if you enjoy that story conceit. Piers Anthony, Race Against Time. Another suggestion.Alexander Key, Escape to Witch
Mountain, 1975,
approximate. A long shot, but for some reason this one is
coming to mind. Siblings Tony and Tia Malone have no
memory of their past, and when their adoptive grandmother dies,
they are placed in a detention home. A man claiming to be their
uncle comes for them, but he really wants to exploit them for
their telepathic powers. After a harrowing escape, in which they
are pursued by their alleged uncle and others, they are
eventually reunited with their own people, who share their
psychic gifts. It's been a REALLY long time since I read
this, but I think that they are some sort of aliens. There
is also a sequel to this book, called Return From Witch
Mountain.I don't think I'm right but could you be
thinking of "Anna to the Infinite Power" (Mildred
Ames)? Set in a futuristic, computer-controlled society
where they must ask permission via the computer each time they
want to leave the house, Anna and her brother do not follow
protocol before going to the mall. There they discover an Anna
look-alike. Soon they discover that Anna is actually a clone and
her family isn't really her family and I think her neighbors
were actually goverment employees too. Anna is taken to a
governmnental compound/lab and it's up to her brother to help
her escape.I loved the book, even though Anna was so
hard to like in the beginning. I haven't seen the '83 movie but
I've heard that it doesn't follow the original story too
closely.I believe Piers Anthony's "Race
Against Time" is my solution, however, I have to locate
the book to be sure. Thanks : )

I read your
"Race Against Time" solution, and have another possibility for
this book, This Time of Darkness, by
H. M. Hoover, and listed at Amazon.com. I originally
thought this book was called Running to the Light or something
like that, but the story centers on a boy and girl escaping from
an underground factory setting to reach the legendary "Level 80"
above ground and learning about a plot to keep the underground
people from knowing about an outside world.
------I read a
book back in my sophomore year of high school (1994). The book
in question focuses on two teenagers and takes place in the
future. Near the beginning of the book they somehow meet and
start communicating through letters. They later determine they
are being held captive. Captive, in the sense, that they are in
a contrived non-futuristic environment designed to fool them
into believing it is their home. They know the letters they
write are being read by their captives, so they devise a way to
encrypt messages within their text. My memory goes fuzzy after
that. I know they eventually meet up and escape. During the
escape, their actual futuristic environment is revealed to them.
I can't remember the author's name, however, I do remember my
10th grade English teacher had reservations about allowing me to
read works from this particular author due to his adult themed
writing style. Also pretty sure, there was a sequel to this
book, which I read as well, and may be confusing plot points
with the first book. Any help would be great. Thanks.

Nicholas Fisk, A Rag, a Bone, and a Hank of
Hair, 1980. Could this be it? In a dystopian
future, the government has cloned a family from the 1940s who live
in a closed environment completely unaware that WWII is long over.
A boy is sent by the government to live with the family and
monitor the experiment, but gradually grows attached to them as he
uncovers the government's plot.Anthony,
Piers, Race against time,1973. I think this is your book!SOLVED:
Piers Anthony, Race Against
Time. Best $2 I ever spent. Thanks so much for finding
my book, been bugging me for years!

Race the Wild WindThis has been bugging me for 25 years! Would love to find
this book. From my memory the main character is a girl named Marty
who's family operates a ski lodge. She has an older, pretty
& popular sister named Glory, and an older brother Jerry who
died in a skiing accident. Marty skis competitively but feels
different than the other popular girls on the team. She is a bit
of a loner and struggling with her brother's death.
She meets a boy (Garth?) who helps her with her
self-confidence. Marty overcomes her fears to compete in the
biggest race of the season on the same ski run where her brother
was killed. I would've read this book around 1968-1971. Any
suggestions are welcome!

Amelia Elizabeth Walden, Race the
Wild Wind, 1965.
This is definitely Race the Wild Wind by
Amelia Elizabeth Walden, 1965. I have a copy, and I
doublechecked to make sure that all the characters are
there--Marty, Glory, and Garth.Amelia Elizabeth Walden, Race the
Wild Wind, 1965.
I think that Amelia Elizabeth Walden is the
author you are looking for. The name Marty rings a bell.
Unfortunately I can't dig up my Walden books to doublecheck this
and she wrote about 3 skiing books. The title Race the
Wild Wind came to mind but I'm not sure if this is
the title.I've been so busy I almost forgot to
check back on my book stumper. I cannot thank you
enough!! I am absolutely THRILLED to find the name of
this book which has been puzzling me for so long.
Now I can purchase it. This service is absolutely
wonderful!!

Rackety-BoomI had to read this to my little brother in the 50's, maybe a
Golden Book don't remember. I just remember "Rackety Boom the old blue truck, the kind
of truck that always gets stuck, in the mud on a hill or anyplacewith a smile on his face..." And that ungrateful
brother of mine doesn't remember the book at all! Any info
would be appreciated because if I ever find it I am going to send
it to the stinker for making me read it and read it. :-)

This is Rackety-Boom by Betty
Ren Wright ('53).---This was a story of a "nice old truck." It was blue, I
think, and got stuck in the mud at the top of the hill and
took the family to the fair. I can't remember much more,
but it was generally the story of a faithful family truck.

Ok, so maybe I should have read a little more before sending
the stumpers--I found my old blue truck in the solved
stumpers. Its called Rackety-Boom by Betty Ren
Wright and I'd love to get a copy of it. Can you tell me
how much a copy would cost?

Racketty-Packetty HouseSee Also Granny's
Wonderful ChairThis was in the back of my Peter Pan book,
so may be a Barrie tale, but I have never seen reference to
it...about a doll house in a nursery that is shoved behind a
door when replaced on a birthday by a newer, grander doll house.
The dolls in the old house become shabby and watch the finer
dolls give parties, etc. The name might have been The Rackety- Packety House.... I would love to own these books again. This
is a great idea for the web/net and I thank you most heartedly!

Finally I got it. I knew the title
was familiar. Rackety packety house is Racketty
packetty house by Francis Hodgson Burnett.
These are fairly available used. I was interested to
see that Harrison Cady is the illustrator.I've also been racking my brain about a
series of books I read in around 1982-1984 about a dollhouse of
dolls that were alive, although I'm going to see if Rumer
Godden's books are they. Are there any other books
that spring to mind about living dolls?There seem to be a lot of stumpers about
dolls and doll houses. Two different books we have are Moppet
and Rackety Packety House.---The story I'm searching for was about 2
little girls who found a doll house in their attic, I think.
They played with it...the dolls were living their own lives
when the girls weren't around...and at the end I believe the
royal princesses (so I'm guessing this was set in England)
took the doll house back to their home and refurbished it????
Sound familiar?

Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Rackety
Packety House.
I'm pretty sure this must be what you're looking for. It's about
family of china headed dolls and their dollhouse which are
passed from generation to generation. The dolls have their own
life though they are much loved by each little girl in turn.
They are neglected by the most recent descendant of the family
when she receives a brand new dollhouse complete with dolls. At
the end of the book, the granddaughter (great granddaughter?) of
Queen Victoria comes to visit her since the first little girl's
grandmother was something like a lady-in-waiting to the queen.
Queen Victoria's granddaughter ignores the fancy new dollhouse
and falls in love with the old dollhouse and dolls. I think she
takes them away with her.D184 Not sure, but try THROUGH THE
DOLLS' HOUSE DOOR by Jane Gardam, 1987~from
a librarianI think that's the one!!! I'm so
excited...I can't wait to track down a copy to read. Thank you
very, very much.Frances Hodgson Burnett, Racketty
Packetty House

A Rag, a Bone and a Hank of HairThis is a kind of fantasy/sci-fi
story that I read in middle or high school during the late
80's. It involves some non-traditionally born beings that
resemble humans, I can't remember if they are clones or robots or
whatever, but they are programmed with memories and lives and I
believe are observed. They are always talking about this
fictional uncle, who from what we the omniscient observer knows,
does not exist, but they talk about him and remember him so much,
that at like the last scene, someone knocks on the door, and he
appears because their belief has created him. Thanks for any
help.

Nicholas Fisk, A Rag, a Bone and a Hank of Hair.
No
question
about
it.
In
a
post-apocalyptic
future,
the
government
is
experimenting
with
cloning
and
creating
false
memories.
They send a young boy in to monitor a family that has been cloned
from 20th-century remains. They think they are in London
during WWII, and that the boy is staying with them because his
uncle is off at war. The scientists stage fake bombings so
they will be afraid to try to leave their (fake) house.
Toward the end, the boy realizes he himself is a clone and that
the experiment will be ended by killing them all. Then a
knock comes at the door, and his fictional "uncle" mysteriously
appears. But is he another clone?Nicholas Fisk, A
Rag, a Bone and a Hank of Hair, reprint.
This could be the one you're thinking of. A futuristic novel set
at the end of the 22nd century. The government is cloning new
people and has manufactured a 1940s wartime family who are
unaware that nothing they know is real. As I recall, the
clones are because so few children are born, and the main
character thinks he is a natural child but ultimately learns
that he is cloned, just like the war-time family he is
observing. (I think they were cloned as a WWII family as
air-raids etc give an excuse for keeping them in a very
restricted area) There is an 'uncle' (Possibly in the Army or
RAF) who does not exist but who they hear, and, I think, smell
cigarette smoke. The book was recently re-printed - ISBN
978-0192718242.Fisk's
story is it! Thank you so much!Railroad
ABCI am looking for a childrens book about
trains. It is an alphabet book that uses the letters to
tell about all the different parts and functions of a train, as
well as, all relevant materials used on a train. I do not
know the author or title I just know that the book begins with
"A is for all clear as the signal goes up, B is for baggage
including the pup" My grandmother read this book to my father
when he was little, he was born in 1940 so it had to have been
published before then. Any help in finding this title is
greatly appreciated! Thank you!

I posted this response on another board
that had the same query, but there was no indication that the
poster saw it. So here goes again: I found a book
called Railroad ABC by Jack Townend
(note there's no 's' in his surname), published in 1944. It was
adapted from a British book called Railway ABC by
the same author. It's 57 pages with color illustrations,
and the size is 11 cm tall and 14 cm wide. Illustrated by
Denison Budd. I found several copies for sale, but note that for
some reason, the books are in there with the illustrator's name,
not the author's. I also found an interesting picture from
this book on
this webpage (look at the fourth picture up from the
bottom of the page). It shows that "N is a night train running
full speed." That seems to have the same rhythm as the A & B
- so this could well be it! If you'd like to know for certain
before ordering, most booksellers will be happy to look at their
copies and can tell you whether it matches your Gram's memories.Some wonderful person who visits your fabulous website posted a
possible soultion to my posting. Thanks soooo much!

Rainbow
After
RainA young adult romance novel from
50's or 60's. Girl has romance with boy. He smelled
like Ivory Soap. He is killed in war and she marries his
best friend. May be 2 books (sequel).

KM Peyton, The Edge of the Cloud, 1969, copyright. Possibly...
Christina Parsons is in love with her cousin, Will, one of two
brothers at Flambards. She marries Will but he dies in the war
(he's a pilot). Later, she marries Dick, a childhood friend, and
later still, Mark, Will's brother, formerly married to Christina's
friend Dorothy. The books are, Flambards,
The Edge of the Cloud, Flambards in Summer and Flambards Divided.Janet Lambert, Rainbow
After Rain. I could have cried when I
finally found it. I am 52 and I read this when I was
about 11 or 12. There is a whole series about this
family. I don't think I read them all. The 2 I was
thinking of was Don't Cry
Little Girl and Rainbow
After Rain. I found this web site
ImageCascadeProducts.com that has a lot of these old books on
there.Rainbow
CrowSun has stopped and all animals are
being buried by snow. A beautiful bird with a gorgeous singing
voice volunteers to take fire to the sun. On the way, the fire
chars his colors black. After the sun is restarted the bird's sad,
but the sun says his colors are still visible as a sheen in his
light.

SOLVED: Nancy Van Laan, Rainbow Crow, 1991, reprint. I was able to figure it
out! The book is called Rainbow Crow, and I didn't remember it
quite correctly originally. I thought the crow had to take fire to
restart the sun, but instead the sky spirit gives the crow fire to
take down to earth to melt all the snow and free the animals. On
the way, this fire turns the crow from beautiful with a melodious
voice to black with a caw. The sky spirit cheers him up by telling
him his colors are still there if he looks at his black feathers
in the light, and also reminds him of the good he did for the
other animals by his sacrifice. This is a touching Native American
legend about how fire came to earth and about not judging others
for their appearances (like the crow).Van Laan,
Nancy, Rainbow Crow, 1991. I think there have been
several retellings of this legend, but perhaps Van Laan's picture
book (which was also on Reading Rainbow) is the one sought.Rainbow
Dress and Other Tollush TalesA little girl's family is so poor that she takes salt sandwiches
to school every day for lunch and she is ridiculed for the plain,
raggedy clothes she wears. She admires all the other little
girls in their brightly colored dresses and so her
mother/grandmother(?), who is the town seamstress(?), makes her a
new dress from various scraps of fabric. She wears the dress
to school and her schoolmates become envious of her
dress. Checked this out of a school library as a child
and have fond memories of it, but can't recall the title or
author. Have tried Googling with no success. I'm
hoping someone else will remember.

Similar to The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor
Estes, but not quite.... I solved this one on
rec.arts.books.childrens a couple of years ago. It's The
Rainbow Dress and Other Tollush Tales by Ilse-Margret
Vogel. "Tollush and her mother live at the edge of a
village and are very poor. But with love and imagination, a salt
sandwich tastes heavenly a birthday-party dress looks as
beautiful as a rainbow a rocking chair becomes part of a magical
journey through the sky and pieces of autumn and a forgotten
photography make a cherished Christmas gift. Four stories which
capture Tollush's world with beguiling warmth and imagination.
Author's b/w illus enhance the timeless old-fashioned flavor of
this charming little book." (Thanks to Deja Vu books of
Bolingbrook IL for providing such a detailed description!)

Raising DemonsThere was a story in my 7th grade reader
(1981) that I think was called "Home on the Range". It was a
very funny story, so much so that when called upon to read
aloud, I was laughing so hard I couldn't continue, & the
teacher had to call on someone else. I vaguely recall it was
about kids trying to cook & their mishaps; the "range" in
the title being the stove. I thought it was written by Shirley
Jackson of "The Lottery" fame, even though it was a completely
different style. I assume it was an excerpt from a longer book,
though I'm really not sure. Any ideas would be greatly
appreciated as I believe my children would get a kick out of the
story.

Shirley Jackson, Raising Demons or Life Among the Savages.
sounds like a part of one of these 2 books by Jackson, don't
have them available to check.There is part of a chapter in the Raising
Demons book that involves the kitchen, but it has to
do with a foul odour that is thought to come from a
malfunctioning refrigerator.

Ralph
of the Round Housethe books that i am looking for are a
series, probably published in the 1930's, called "Ralph of the
Roundhouse" and concern a boy's railroad-related
adventures. I read about five or six in the series when I
was a boy in the 1940's.

Ralph on the Railroad: four
complete adventure books for boys in one big volume by Allen Chapman, illus. by Clare
Angell and Charles Nuttall, Grosset & Dunlap, 1933.
Contents - Ralph in the round house [sic] / Ralph in the switch
tower / Ralph on the engine / Ralph on the Overland
Express. Ralph of the Roundhous: or, Bound to become a
railroad man was also published separately by Grosset and Dunlap
in 1906.R68 Allen Chapman, Railroad
Series, 1900s through 1920s. Only one
book is called "Ralph of the Round House" (note the break in the
last word). Titles include Ralph of the Round
House, Or Bound to Become a Railroad Man; Ralph in the
Switch Tower; Ralph on the Engine, Or the Young Fireman of
the Limited Mail; Ralph on the Overland Express; Ralph on
the Army Train (#6); Ralph on the Midnight Flyer (#7)
Or, the Wreck at Shadow Valley; Ralph and the Train Wreckers
(#10).

Rand McNally Book of Favorite
Animal StoriesI am looking for a Wonder Book with a green
cover from the early 60's. I think it was called "Forest
Animals" or "Forest Friends." The opening line was, "Hello World!" said
Buffin. Buffin was a bear.
That's all I know! Any ideas?

This story is called Forest Babies.
I have it in an anthology of stories called The Rand
McNally Book of Favorite Animal Stories. My
anthology lists the author of this story as Jean J. Parrish
with illustrations by Elizabeth Webbe. The line "Hello,
World!" begins the story of "Buffin Goes Everywhere."
He visits some ants and gets his nose stung. Then he falls out
of a tree into a cocklebur patch. Finally the Mother and
Father Bear find him. My book also includes "Roly and
Poly Get Dizzy", the story of raccoon twins and "Little
Deer Gets a Name." I loved this collection of
stories as a child.This story is called Forest Babies.
I
have it in an anthology of stories called The Rand
McNally Book of Favorite Animal Stories. My
anthology lists the author of this story as Jean J.Parrish
with illustrations by Elizabeth Webbe.Thank you for solving this for
me!!!! This definitely is the book! I hope I can
find it!! I remember my parents reading this to me
often. Thanks again!---The third book was a collection of four
stories. It was a large red, glossy hard back with four
pictures of the different animal stories on the front.
One of the stories was about an elephant or hippo who gets his
clothes wet and they shrink, another was about a mother cat
and her kittens and the first story although I don't remember
what it was about it had a picture of a goose carrying long
greenish candles with a bunch of other animals to some kind of
a party. I hope you can help me I have been looking for
so long. Thank you.

I remember a hardback book that I either
had in the 60's or had for my children in the late 70's that was
a sort of 4-in-1 book that contained 4 Little Golden Book
titles. It had one of those cheap cellophane covers that
disintegrated after a few years. The cover showed the complete
covers of the 4 books (including the gold bindings.) The
elephant book was The Saggy, Baggy Elephant and I
believe one of the other titles was about a "scraggly??" lion.The story about the lion is titled The
Tawny
Scrawny Lion. I don't remember the titles of the
other two books included in this particular edition, but I
believe that all four were originally Little Golden Books.Would suggest - Favorite Animal
Stories, published Rand-McNally Elf Books 1959.
Contains these stories: The Little Mailman of Bayberry Lane;
Forest Babies; Little Bobo and His Blue Jacket; and Mommy Cat
and Her Kittens. Little Bobo is an elephant whose blue
jacket is shrunk in the wash, and I believe one of the animals
in Bayberry Lane is a goose or duck who makes bayberry candles.A55 animal stories: the Rand McNally
book Favorite Animal Stories was reprinted in 1980,
and a photograph of the cover on Ebay shows a red book with 4
pictures on it, which include the little elephant Bobo in his
blue jacket, and the little chipmunk with his postman's hat and
jacket. Unfortunately the photo was too fuzzy to provide clear
detail on the other two pictures, but the contents do seem to
match up fairly well.---I believe this was an oversized
children's book. The characters are animals dressed like
people. There is a pig lady who is always waiting for
her squirrel mailman by the mailbox. He feels bad
because she never gets any mail. I remember how sad her
face looked! He and the other animals in the community
decide to have a party so she can be invited. There is a
picture of her after she gets out of the tub, and she's drying
herself off with a towel. There's some misunderstanding,
and no one shows up for her party. The other animals
save the day by having a surprise party for her. There are
other stories in the book too, but this is the only one I
remember.

HRL: This sounds like the Rand McNally Elf Book: The
Little Mailman of Bayberry Lane by Ian Munn
and illustrated by Elizabeth Webbe, 1952 (see Solved Mysteries),
which chronicles the travels of a chipmunk mail carrier.
It's small though, so perhaps you remember a larger book anthology
that had several Elf books reprinted? Ian Munn, The Rand McNally Book of Favorite Animal Stories,
1959. You've got it! Thank you so much, it was
driving me crazy! I have found a copy and I bought
it. Thanks for your site!This book was reprinted in 1956 as a Rand
McNally Giant Book (40 cm tall).I had an oversized copy of The Little
Mailman of Bayberry Lane. It was one of my first
books. Still have it, somewhere:)

Rand McNally Book of
Favorite PasttimesI'm looking for a hardcover, oversized
children's book that I enjoyed reading in the late 60s early
70s. The book was divided into 4 separate parts, each
describing an activity: 1) The girl was a twirling
majorette. She wore white boots with pom poms and marched
with a baton, 2) Showed a little girl horseback riding.
She wore a complete equestrian outfit and it showed her taking
care of and riding the horse, 3) The little girl was a ballerina
in a tu tu. There was a mirrored wall with a bar that she
stretched at, I think some of the steps were shown and labeled
and 4) a swimmer. I believe she wore flippers and a
snorkel mask. I think it showed her learning how to swim
and doing some of the strokes....I vaguely remember that items
on the pages were labeled, so the reader could see all of the
different equiptment or movements for each activity. The 4
activities were divided by pages that had a small picture
representing each activity. For example, before the
equestrian section, there was a picture of a hat and "whip" that
the girl wore. I treasured this book and would appreciate
any clues. Thanks!!

Rand McNally Book of Favorite
Pastimes, 1963.
I'm not sure if this is the book since it includes boys as well
as girls, buthere's the description: "Boys and girls in
these four stories work hard to master ballet dancing, riding,
baton twirling, and swimming." The four stories are Little
Ballerina (D. Grider), Little Horseman (M. Watts), Little
Majorette (D. Grider), Little Swimmers (V. Hunter).Hi, My stumper was solved!!! L93- the book is
definately The Rand McNally Book of Favorite Pasttimes.
I can't believe that someone recognized this book from my
clues! I am so happy to have the title. Now,
my quest is to find the book. Any suggestions?
Thanks, again.

Ransomfive kids get kidnapped while on the bus home from school (fake
bus driver). they're taken to some cabin and held for
ransom. they eventually escape but it's a really dark book
from the 70s or 80s.

#K27--Kidnapped: Paperback title is Five
Were Missing, author is Lois Duncan, and
there's a different, hardcover title, which escapes me at
present.I think this one is The Solid Gold
Kid by Norma Fox Mazer and Harry Mazer.
The protagonist is a 16 year old rich kid named Derek Chapman
who is standing at a bus stop with four other teenagers when
they hitch a ride in a van to escape the rain. They are
kidnapped and held for ransom.Lois Duncan, Ransom, 1993, reprint. Glad to help!Pretty sure this is a Lois Duncan
book.Lois Duncan, Ransom. The solution to K27 is
Ransom by Lois Duncan, one of her great
mystery/suspense novels I read in the late 70s or so.K27: Could it be Ransom by Lois
Duncan? Five were missing--a terrifying ride into a
nightmare! In the beginning it's just another bus ride home from
school. But the driver is a stranger . . .The Solid Gold Kid. I'm not
sure if this is it, as I read it when I was seven, and was so
terrified I've blocked almost all memory of it.

Ransom
for a KnightThis book must have been written sometime
before the early-mid 1970s. For some reason the grown-ups
on the manor don't know or understand that the girl's father (a
knight) is being held for ramson. But she realizes that
she must save him. She sets off with one companion (I think it
is a little boy who is a servant) and they travel to
Scotland. They use up all their ransom money on the trip
but once they actually find the Scottish chief who is holding
the father prisoner, he is so impressed with the girl's bravery
that he lets the father go without insisting on the
ransom. A scene that I remember is shortly after the kids
have entered the Scottish lowlands they realize that they would
be detected as foreign if they speak (the Scots are speaking a
blended language and have an accent very different than that
which the children use) so when they go into a town to buy
bread, the girl simply points and pays. She either doesn't know
the value of money (a silver penny I think) or the value is so
different in Scotland that she shocks the woman when she almost
walks away with out getting change. The children might
have had a horse with them.

Barbara Leonie Picard, Ransom for a
Knight.
(1956) Alys and a boy servant travel across medieval
England to Scotland to ransom her father and brother, taking
with them a horse, Blanche, who has a foal on the journey and
has to be left behind. Alys takes her dowry, her dead mother's
jewellery, to pay the ransom. They can't use the jewellery
to pay for the journey and their money runs out so they nearly
starve. The Scottish lord is so impressed with Alys' bravery
that he gives her back her dowry and trusts her father to send
the ransom when he gets home.Yes!!! That is it. Thank you so much! I see that I was
mistaken about a few of the details, but that is certainly the
story.

Rascals at LargeMale author pre-1974 writes
engagingly and personally about heroes of jungle adventure books
and their influence on boys. Chapter on Mowgli may have discussed
similarities between him and Tarzan. (I may be mixing this part up
with Fenton's "The Big Swingers" where he has a chapter on this
subject which I know I read about the same time). The author
talked about these books' descriptions of idealized male and
female bodies. He said reading about La of Opar who was "almost
naked" and became a "volcano of desire" when she fell in love with
Tarzan could be very erotic for adolescent boys (he was a bit more
blunt than that about it). Chapter on Bomba the Jungle Boy and
other boy heroes who came along later. The book jacket shows a
painting of a teenage boy swinging through dense trees on a vine,
of course. Not "The Big Swingers" as that focuses on Burroughs'
life and how he created and marketed Tarzan, but might have been
published around the same time.

Arthur
Prager, Rascals at Large:
the Clue in the Old Nostalgia, 1971. I think this is the book you want, though
your description of the cover doesn't match what I remember of it.Arthur
Prager, Rascals at Large
or, The Clue in the Old Nostalgia, 1971, approximate. It isn't
devoted exclusively to jungle heroes, but Prager's Rascals at
Large opens with a
chapter on Tarzan and incorporates discussion of most of the
characters mentioned (along with a number of other heroes of boys'
series and serials), and it's written in a lively style.
(Another possibility might be Richard Lupoff's Edgar Rice
Burroughs: Master of Adventure from the mid-1960s. It has a Tarzan figure on the
cover of the older edition.)Arthur Prager, Rascals At Large: The Clue in the
Old Nostalgia, Doubleday, 1971.The book I was thinking of was indeed Rascals At Large. Thank you
to everyone who pointed me in the right direction. I don't know
what I'd do without this service.

Ratha's CreatureI read this book about 15 years ago. It starts out with a
fire being started by ligtning in the forest. The animals
are all freaked out by it. one of the saber toothed cats, a
female, keeps the fire. I don't really remember too much
about it. i don't even remember the carachter's names.
She eventually has a mate and babies. The cover was either
dark green or black with a picture in the front of a saber toothed
tiger holding a burning branch. (If i remember correctly)

Clare Bell, Ratha's Creature, 1983. This book is definitely Ratha's
Creature. Here is the description from the back of
the book: "Conquering the Red Tongue, Ratha claims the
flickering creature as her own, for no wild cat before could
tame mysterious fire. But now the bold she-cat must suffer
for her triumph: the jealous leader of her clan orders her
into exile. Banished, Ratha ventures to the enemy's
domain, where she must at every turn outwit predators who stalk
her. With no one to protect her, Ratha must gather
strength and cunning to survive." There is a sequel, "Clan
Ground," in which Ratha struggles to overcome the tyranny of her
old clan's worship of the fire. According to the book
jacket, the first book was made into a CBS Storybreak Special.Clare Bell, Ratha's Creature. Thank you so much
for solving this. It's been making me crazy. I'm
going to see if I can find an affordable copy, and then i'm
going to re-read it.This is Clare Bell, author of Ratha's
Creature, Tomorrow's Sphinx and others. I
think your site is wonderful! I just wanted to let you
know that Ratha's Creature and the other books in
the series are being reprinted by Viking Penguin
Children's Books in the Firebird line, along with a new novel, Ratha's
Courage. They are due out in Spring
2007. Thanks for including my work on your site. I
thought you might like to check out my new little website.
I'm still building it.

RatsmagicI owned this book sometime between 1976-1980, and it was in new
condition. No idea of author, title or subject (too young)
but my younger sister remembers it too, so I didn't make it
up! The book was large, hardcover, and illustrated with
'dark' images, heavy use of black and dark colors, dark oranges,
yellows, greens. There were 'scary' eyes in trees, I
remember being mildly scared by the illustrations and would only
read with my parents. Specific animals I remember: toucan,
tiger or large jungle cat, maybe a snake. The pages were
glossy, each had a lot of text not suitable for a beginner reader,
opposite to a full-page illustration. Sorry neither of us
can remember the plot. There were no human characters that I
can remember, but it was a story as opposed to an informational
book. I have been searching and googling keywords with no
success. Finally found you and hoping I can finally put this
nagging to bed (and buy us each a copy of the book.) NOT: The
Jungle Book, Where the Wild Things Are

Wayne
Anderson , Ratsmagic,
1976, approximate. "The evil witch steals Bluebird for the
contents of the egg she is about to lay. The animals of the
Valley of Peace count on Rat to save her." The illustrations
freaked me out a fair bit as a kid. The eyes in the trees
were nothing compared to the frozen witch and the Kate
Bush/"Never For Ever"album cover-style menagerie of creatures.
There was also the repeated phrase, "'Um,' said Rat," that
always comes to mind when I think of this book.Thank you- someone replied and I am
almost certain it is the same book- Ratsmagic by Wayne
Anderson. I have googled it and now purchased a copy
online, just to be sure. I am so excited I am calling my
sister in italy to tell her!!
---
a witch, a lake in the middle of a forest, dark illustrations,
black backgrounds, last image is the witch frozen in the water,
with a fairy (that had come out of an egg?) caught in her
fingers.

Wayne
Anderson, Ratsmagic. I'm pretty sure this must be the
book. The illustrations are very dark, unique and quite
memorable. As well as I can remember, a witch steals
bluebird because her egg has a secret. Rat rescues her and
fairy creature(s) come out of the egg. Most escape, but
one doesn't quite make it and is frozen in the lake with the
witch. This is also listed in the solved stumpers. Wayne
Anderson, Ratsmagic, 1976. This is definitely
"Ratsmagic." A description is in Solved Stumpers.SOLVED: Wayne Anderson,
Ratsmagic, 1976. Hello Harriett, I forgot about
checking up on this for a while. Both are solved! My wife is
thrilled. I've been hearing about W322 (Ratsmagic) for years.
She would inquire at every independent bookstore we've ever been
in. Thank you so much. Both have been ordered, she can't wait.

Read Aloud Funny
StoriesThis book was from the 60's or 70's. It is
a young reader level compilation of short stories with morals.
In one story a poor, downtrodden woman is given a vase of
flowers. She puts them on her kitchen table and notices how
dirty her table is and so she paints it, then notices the walls
and paints them, etc. until she has a nice clean and newly
painted little house, inside and out. The only other story I can
remember has to do with either a dog or cat that is scared to
climb either up or down the stairs and has to overcome that fear
when the family moves in to a new house and the children sleep
upstairs. Could these stories be part of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
series? Or am I combining two different books?

Edward Ormondroyd, Michael the
Upstairs Dog,
1967. This is the story of a big German Shepard named
Michael who lives in the city in a second-floor apartment.
He is sad because he has to stay inside all day, so the owners
put a ladder up to the back window. Unfortunately, Michael
teaches all the neighborhood dogs to use the ladder and they
destroy the apartment! In the end, the family moves to the
country. Illustrations are by Cyndy Szekers.I have re-read the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
books, and this is not one of them.#M206--Messy Woman Cleans House:
Anyone know what Pink Like the Geranium, by Lorraine
Babbitt, is about?Pink Like the Geranium : "A
Mexican American boy is unwilling to start school until his
grandmother changes his mind."This is definitely not a one-story book.
There is a central plot which uses stories told by the central
character to give examples of how different people overcome
problems, i.e. the dog learns to overcome his fear of stairs,
the poor woman learns how to improve her own life rather than
blame others for her problems, etc.this is the same book that is being asked
about in book stumper # M-206. It was definitely one of several
short stories in abook.Jane Thayer, Read Aloud Funny
Stories, 1958. I am the original requester of this
stumper. I have since found the book in a box. Thanks for all
of your input. Also, I believe this is the same book that is
requested in M-55 of the stumper list.---My wife read the book in 2nd grade.
Sorry the info is so sketchy. The storyline is of an
owner of a house in a run-down neighborhood. He begins
repairing his home and later places a potted geranium on his
stoop. Neighbors begin copying his actions and soon the
whole neighborhood is uplifted. We would appreciate any
help you might give.

I'd love to get a copy of this story,
which may have been included within a short stories
anthology. It's about a woman who's a real
slantern and can't cope, but someone then gives her a magic
geranium, which she puts on the kitchen table. After
that she sees that the table is broken and rickety, and so she
fixes and paints it. Etc. with the kitchen chairs, and
then cleaning the kitchen, making curtains ... until the whole
house is sparkling new and painted. At the end of the
story her husband comes home to a brand new house and happy,
cleaned up wife!

#M55--Magic geranium: the best-known
book along these lines is Miracle of the Flower Boxes,
by Peggy Mann, about black and hispanic juvenile gang
warriors who come together to plant flowers. When I was in
first grade, my mom sent my friend and I to the library for The
Secret Garden and we came home with a book called The
Hidden Garden, which proved to be about city
dwellers converting a vacant lot into a garden (the stump about
the vacant lot into a baseball diamond reminded me of
this). A New Home for Billy by May
Justus, also concerns urban renewal. Don't know
whether any of these is the book in question but they are all
great stories of urban renewal.Another book on the same theme is Kate
Seredy's A Tree for Peter published Viking 1941 "When
lame Peter was given a little red spade it became a sword to
fight ugliness and to plant the seeds of beauty and
contentment and hope. A lovely story of the transformation of
Shantytown from a dingy, discouraged settlement to a town with
grass and gardens and white painted homes."if these are two different books, the first
may be - Little Red Flower, by Paul Tripp,
illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, published Doubleday 1969, 48
pages. "To a dusty mining town where nothing ever grew,
except children, came Mr. Greenthumb to live, and in a window
sill flower pot he grew a bright red flower. Astounded, the
citizens laid the miracle to the man's green thumb
(accidentally stained with paint). When he became ill and
neglected the little flower, Joseph, the doctor's son was the
only one who thought he could save it, and in the process
taught the town a lesson."M55 magic geranium: this is kind of
off-the-wall, but The Clean Pig, written and
illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, published Scribner
1952, 34 pages, has a very similar plot - "transformation of
a run-down, broken-down farm after a clean little pig arrives.
The "string-bean farmer looking like a mussed-up bed" becomes
"a farmer proud as a father", and his wife "dirty as a potato
root" is "all polished rosy red like an apple". The grinning
little pig now smelled like a geranium!" (HB Jun/52 p.170)
Why renovation is associated with geraniums I do not know, but I
had to send this because the pig smells like one.
Sniff out those book stumpers, that's what I say... The Magic Rose Geranium, 50's
??? My copy was typed from the actual book (which I don't
own). Unfortunately, it doesn't have the authors name on
it. The story follows the summary exactly. Here are the
last few lines of the book - "May I ask what has caused this
remarkable change in our poor old shabby house?" Mrs. Wistful
looked at Mr. Wistful. She looked at the rose geranium in the
middle of the table. Then she smiled. Mrs. Wistful said, "It is
all because of this wonderful, beautiful magic rose geranium!"Just a title match- Flowerpot Gardens
by Clyde Robert Bulla. I don't know if this is fiction
or non-fiction.this is the same book that is being asked
about in book stumper # M-206. It was definitely one of several
short stories in abook.I think we are talking two different books
here. The first looks just like Paul Tripp's The Little
Red Flower. (Doubleday and Company, Inc.-1968) In
the dusty dismal mining town, where no grass, or trees, or
flowers grow, there is great debate throughout the town as to
what that red and green thing in Mr. Greenthumb's window is! It
is a flower! Lines start snaking through town as people walk by
to view this phenomenon. Soon everyone' minds are dwelling on
this geranium!-children are drawing flower pictures in their
classrooms, women are whistling and humming as they scrub and
clean-the men with their pick axes down the mineshafts are all
dreaming of the flower. At story's end every home and
storefront window has a geranium in it!Jane Thayer, Read Aloud Funny Stories, 1958. I am the original requester
of M206. I have since found the book in a box. Thanks for all of
your input. Also, I believe this is the same book that is
requested in M-55 of the stumper list.Jane Thayer, Read Aloud Funny Stories, 1958. This book contains 21 short
stories, including The Magic Geranium. In this version of the
Magic Geranium, it is the kitchen that is transformed by the
flower being placed on the table. The woman, Mrs. Wistful,
repaints the table, the chairs, the walls, hangs new curtains,
etc. The rest of the stories are just as short, cute, and have a
moral as well. The author is Jane Thayer, and the
illustrator is Crosby Newell.---Margaret Weyworth Johnson ? Story of an old lady living
in a rickety old house. She receives a red geranium. Displays it
on her kitchen table. The red geranium made the table look
horrible, so she fixed it up and painted it. This made the
chairs look shabby, so she painted them. This made the rest of
the kitchen look horrible, so she proceeded to fix up her whole
house. End of story is the lady and her house sparkled and
flourished all because of the red geranium. I read this in
grammer school and have not been able to locate the book or even
the story.

This appears under Solved stumpers. Read
Aloud Funny Stories-Jane Thayer, 1958. The
story is called The Magic Geranium.

Hello! I am 51 years old (born in 1953) and
for at least 25 years I have been trying to remember and then
find a short story about a geranium that transforms a woman's
house. Today, as if by magic, I stumbled upon your web
site and found "Read Aloud Funny Stories" by Jane
Thayer, published in 1958, in which "The Magic Geranium"
appeared. I am SO GRATEFUL to find the short description
(below). After all these years of longing for this story,
it is absolutely delightful to know who wrote it and have the
ability to locate it on a rare book site and buy two
copies. Thank you so much for this service. Melinda
Hawley

Jane Thayer, Read Aloud Funny
Stories, 1958. This
book contains 21 short stories, including The Magic Geranium. In
this version of the Magic Geranium, it is the kitchen that is
transformed by the flower being placed on the table. The woman,
Mrs. Wistful, repaints the table, the chairs, the walls, hangs
new curtains, etc. The rest of the stories are just as short,
cute, and have a moral as well. The author is Jane Thayer, and
the illustrator is Crosby Newell.---I'm looking for a book I read as a child
about 40 years ago. A woman was poor and while at the store
bought a flower pot. When she brought it home she placed it on
the table and realized the rest of her home needed fixed up.
She made curtains, painted and worked until the house looked
bright and cheery. The illustrations were basic, it seems like
mostly black and white and stick type drawings. Thank
you.

Read Aloud Funny Stories (and
other
versions).
This stumper was driving me nuts: I remembered the story very
well also, and that the flower in question was a geranium, but
nothing more. So I did a keyword search on the internet
and found the solution, believe it or not, right here on
Loganberry, under solved mysteries. Look under R for a couple of
different versions of the story.

Read-Aloud
Nursery TalesWhen I was little I remember reading a book of stories which
contained stories like The 3 Billy Goats Gruff, Red Riding
Hood, Henny Penny, Puss-In-Boots-and stories like The
House that Jack Built. The last story in the book, I
believe, was The City Mouse & The Country Mouse. The
book might have been called, Read Aloud
Nursery Tales. Is anybody sure what this book is?

Caroline Kramer, Read-Aloud Nursery Tales, 1957. Hey,
I'm the one who printed this in the first place. I
happened to find the answer on another site. The book is titled
Read-Aloud Nursery Tales retold by Caroline Kramer and
illustrated by Pheobe Erickson. On another site I saw these
comments "An oversized book containing some ten
children's stories, the last of which is TMCM(59). Both mice
are female and dressed, the city mouse elegantly.There are
five lively illustrations for his fable like all the
illustrations in the book, they alternate between color and
black&white." This was enough for me to realize
that this indeed is the book I was remembering. I'm
very happy to have accidentaly solved my own mystery.I sent in a book stumper recently about a book my sister and I
are trying to find. I spoke to her yesterday and she sent
you a stumper on it too. Well, we found the book. It
is Read-Aloud Nursery Tales by Caroline Kramer. Thanks
for offering the book stumper area on your web site. It
has great info on old books. We used it as a starting
point for our quest.

Read-It-Yourself
StorybookHardback,pink cover. 1980s Collection of
children's stories including following titles: Eddie's Moving
Day, Emily's Moo, Follow That Ball. The first story was about a
monkey and a bee. There was a story about a lion who let the
birds have his hair to make nests. Also a story about Danny who
wanted a pet dog, but went through several pets before he proved
to his mom that he could take care of a dog.My own children
loved the stories in this book. I put it in my classroom library
about 8 years ago and it disappeared. I've looked in used book
stores off and on since then.I think Reader is somewhere on the
cover.I would love to find this book!

Jacobs, Leland B., comp., The
Read-It-Yourself Storybook, 1971.
Contents: The monkey and the bee, by L. B. Jacobs.--Tony
and his friends, by K. Wagner.--Emily's moo, by T.
Gergely.--Come on! Play ball, by I.-M. Vogel.--Peek-a-boo, by
I.-M. Vogel.--Eddie's moving day, by J. Deering.--Too many
Bozos, by L. Moore.Leland B. Jacobs (editor), The
Read-It-Yourself Storybook, 1971. A
Deluxe golden book. Contents: The monkey and the bee, by
L. B. Jacobs.--Tony and his friends, by K. Wagner.--Emily's moo,
by T. Gergely.--Come on! Play ball, by I.-M. Vogel.--Peek-a-boo,
by I.-M. Vogel.--Eddie's moving day, by J. Deering.--Too many
Bozos, by L. Moore. Republished in 1996 with a different
cover and possibly interior illustrations.Leland B Jacobs, Read-It-Yourself Storybook. This
is a solution to my stumper but it was already posted on your
site. I found the title in Stumpers Solved soon after I sent my
request. I don't know how I missed it the first time I looked.
Thank you so much! It's fun to read about the books people are
looking for.

Ready, Set, RememberI was given this book when I was a kid some time in the early
80's. It was a picture-word association memory book strictly about
state capitals. It would show a picture to associate the words of
the state and it's capital. For example: Alabama. He would break
the word down to Alley-Bam. The capital Montgomery would be broken
down to Mount-Gum-Hurry. So it would show an illustration of a kid
hurrying down an alley while chewing gum towards a mountain as a
firecracker went 'BAM!' I have other examples, but you get the
idea. This book is the only reason I remember any state capitals!
I just wish he had broken down his name! I've tried google and
other search engines to no avail. I work in a library and have
asked the librarian, nothing.

Jerry Lucas, Ready, Set, Remember, 1978. Maybe this one: "Presents systems
for remembering the states and their capitals, Presidents of the
United States, and the multiplication tables. Also presents
techniques for remembering spelling and vocabulary words."
Lucas has a website, and sells the state capital book separately
now. Here's a link
to a sample (Arkansas).My stumper has been solved!!! Yeah! Thank you so much for
this service! How great is that? Now I will be on the hunt for
my book armed with the title and author's name.

Really Real FamilyI am looking for a photo essay type book
containing black & white photos, and no illustrations.
It is definitely not a novel, and would be aimed at a younger
reader. It was published prior to 1966-68, which is when I
enjoyed it. However, the clothing styles, etc. depict an
earlier era, possibly 1950's. It is the story of a little
girl (younger than 10 years old, I would say). She is
Oriental and I recall that her name is Elaine. She is
either leaving Hawaii or going to Hawaii to a new foster or
adoptive home. The photos depict her preparations,
anticipation, and travel. I have the impression that this
book may be part of a series of photographic essay type books of
the 1950's-early 1960's aimed to reassure and help children in
various life situations. I find your Book Stumper site an
endless source of fascination and peruse it whenever I get a
chance. Many thanks for such a wonderful service!!

In the book The Family Nobody Wanted,
a true story written by Helen Doss, one of the adopted
daughters is named Elaine, and she comes to the family from
Hawaii with her half-sister, Diane. I wonder if it could be her
story that you are remembering.Thank you for these extremely significant clues! I hadn't
remembered a half-sister named Diane, but this is now ringing
faint bells. I do think this could be the story, and the
1954 publication date sounds right, but I'm not sure this is the
actual book I have in mind. The book that I read was geared for
elementary school children, and was mostly comprised of b&w
photos. I used to borrow it from my elementary school library.
Is it possible that it is another book written by Helen Doss,
based on The family nobody wanted, a kind of abridged
version for kids? I did a search and have come up with The
really real family which she wrote in 1959. It seems to
contain photos, but I cannot verify if it is the story of Elaine
and Diane, specifically. In any event, I do want to read The
family nobody wanted. Thanks again for steering me
in what appears to be the right direction!E72 Yes new poster set me on the
track. I speak of a diff book by Doss: Doss,
Helen [Hellen]. The really real family.
photos Little c1959. photographs illustrate
how orphan sisters, Elaine and Diane, are adopted into the
large, multi-ethnic family made famous by Helen Doss' book, The
family nobody wanted.I can verify that the book the poster is
seeking is indeed The Really Real Family by Helen
Doss, first published in 1959.Thank you everyone for your clues and
your confirmation that the book I was looking for is The
really real family by Helen Doss! From reading the
segment where Elaine and Diane join the family, I realised
that they definitely were the girls in the book I have been
searching for. However, as I suspected, this is not the
actual book, wonderful as it is.

Really SpringA city is eagerly awaiting the coming of
spring. In desperation they paint the city vividly with colorful
flowers, grasses etc. to make it look like spring has arrived.
That night a huge rain storm washes away the paint and in its
place the real thing appears magically! The city is awash with
spring! 1952?

Gene Zion, Really Spring, 1956. This is a terrific book by the
author of Harry the Dirty Dog. The town
paints flowersand plants all over buildings only to have
them wash off in the rain which starts the real spring.

Really Weird SummerI read this when I was in middle school in
1983, so it has to be from that year or earlier. The story is,
four children: Nels, age 12, Stevie, 9 (his turning ten is a big
plot device), Rory, 8, and Jenny, 6, are spending the summer at
an inn owned by their aunt and uncle while their parents'
divorce is being finalized. The two younger children are happy
as clams playing with the housekeeper's daughter, but the older
two are very disaffected. Nels is getting into that moody
teenager thing, and Stevie is all needy. Nels finds a
closet in one of the rooms that opens onto a tower. A guy his
own age, who is perfectly on his sci-fi geek wavelength, lives
in there with his wonderful, perfect parents. The two of them
hangs out in the tower every day. The aunt and uncle don't seem
to know anyone lives in the tower, and Nels doesnt tell anyone
he has this friend. Meanwhile, Stevie is completely out of the
loop, so he finally ends up going to the park nearby where some
older teenagers hang around they kind of humor him, which
is better than nothing. The aunt is impatient with him, the
uncle is a space case, Nels brushes him off and ultimately blows
up at him. Stevie just gets no love! He's looking forward to his
tenth birthday, and on the day, he gets caught sneaking a box of
ice cream bars out of the inn's store so he can host his own
birthday party. Of course, this is the first time anyone
remembers that he was having a birthday, and Nels is overcome
with guilt how could he have forgotten his brother's
birthday, when he even remembers the birthday? Nels goes
to confront Alan and ask him once and for all: who is he, and
how can his family live in this tower without anyone knowing
about them? Alan won't give him an answer, and when he asks
Alan's parents for an explanation, they fade away like
apparitions. Then he can't get out of the entrance room. Stevie
finally hears him pounding on the door and lets him out. Turns
out there IS no tower. He must have hallucinated the entire
thing. I'm stuck on the title and the author, except that the
author's name was somewhere in the middle of the alphabet, maybe
M-something or Mc-something, because I can picture the book
being in that part of the stacks.

Eloise Jarvis McGraw, A Really Weird
Summer,1977.
While staying with relatives who live in an old inn,
twelve-year-old Nels finds a secret passageway to a part of the
building that no longer exists and meets a strange boy whose
family is trapped in a leftover pocket of time.A really weird summer. Eloise
Jarvis McGraw.
1977 While staying with relatives who live in an old inn,
twelve-year-old Nels finds a secret passageway to a part of the
building that no longer exists and meets a strangeboy whose family is trapped in a leftover
pocket of time.McGraw, Eloise Jarvis, A Really Weird
Summer. NY Atheneum
1977. I agree with this suggestion. The date is right and
the plot description is very close, including names: "Summary:
Four children in Oregon spend the summer of their parent's
divorce with a little-known aunt and uncle. There 12 year old
Nels finds a long-unused room, sees a mysterious image in a
mirror, and finds his way into a secret world that is secure and
happy." "Isolated during his parents' divorce in a strange old
Oregon inn in the care of his withdrawn great-aunt and uncle,
Nels retreats from his younger siblings to the happy world of
the secret tower. Did he invent his new friend Alan, or is he
real?"

Reason for GladnessLate 50's, mid 60's, juvenile - This was a series of perhaps four
or five young adult fiction books about an Irish family. The
parents had come over from Ireland. They had nine
children: Patrick, Katie, Peggy, Paul, Brendan, Rose, John,
James and Mary. The father was a police officer. As
adults, Patrick also became a police officer, Brendan became
a priest and Mary a nun. This is all I remember. I
would have read them in the mid 60's, I think. The books
took place from the 9 kids childhood to adulthood.

I remember reading a story like this
(probably an excerpt from your book) in one of my mother's
magazines around 1960. I was fascinated by the large
family, and I remember Katie feeling responsible for the
others. Brendan was only about 4 or 5, and I think was
injured somehow, which made him quiet and thoughtful growing
up. It was either in McCall's or the Ladies' Home Journal,
probably the former as it published a lot of fiction.Cunningham, Julia Dorp
dead illus by James
Spanfeller Pantheon
1965 orphan - juvenile fiction;
apprenticeship - escape from - juvenile fiction; England -
juvenile fiction; by award- winning authorI just leafed through Dorp Dead,
and I think it's fairly safe to say that it is not the book that
the original poster is looking for.Mary L. Wallace, A Reason for
Gladness,1965. I believe this is the book asked for.
It's about an Irish-American family who lived in Boston. Brendan
was the youngest and a separate book called that was about him
as a grown-up was published in 1966. They were both in McCall's,
as well, I believe.I submitted this stumper awhile back and
just checked again. SOLVED! Wonderful. YES!
This the book. I have been looking for this one for
ages. Thank you so much.'

Reasons and RaisinsA yound fox steals the rasins for his mom's cookies and runs
away, has adventures, and comes back to a spanking for stealin'!
But then get cookies & cuddles in the end anyways...(late 70's
or early 80's)

Josephine and Richard Aldridge, Reasons
and
Raisins. "A
naughty little fox takes the raisins his mother tells him not to
touch and then his adventures begin."figured it out.... Reasons and Rasins! Now I just have
to Google for the author...

Reb and the
RedcoatsA young revolutionary soldier (sailor) is captured and sent as a
sort of POW to an estate in England. The story is told from the
point of view of the young daughter of the family that owns the
estate. After recovering from wounds, the soldier/sailor is placed
on house arrest and becomes a tutor to the children of the family.
Eventually he becomes beloved by all the family. Critical plot
elements include the little girl's doll, that is placed outside
his door each night to indicate that he is honoring his house
arrest, and him teaching the children how to make wax fruit as
presents for their parents. While making the fruit, he makes a
copy of the doll (which has a wax head) and places the new doll
outside the door instead. Then he escapes. The family is
devastated that he broke the trust, but then discovers that it was
not the "real" doll, but a copy. At the end of the book, the young
man comes back and falls in love with the (now grown-up) girl.

I answered my own stumper, or rather, my sister did. It's The
Reb
and the Redcoats (1961) by Constance Savery. She has a
copy, so now all I have to do is pry it out of my niece's
fingers.Constance Savery, The Reb and the
Redcoats, 1999
(reprint). The book was originally published by David Mackay
in 1961 or earlier, but has been reprinted by Bethlehem
Books. "In an interesting turnabout, the Revolutionary War
is seen through the eyes of a British family to whom an American
prisoner of war has been entrusted.Technically the young
prisoner is in Uncle Laurence's custody, but the children soon
forge a forbidden friendship with him after he nearly dies in an
attempted escape. He becomes the Reb and they, his Redcoats. But
when they learn of some events leading to his coming to Europe,
even Uncle Laurence, embittered by the unjust death of a friend
in America, thaws toward him—but this doesn't stop the Reb from
scheming to escape. As usual, Constance Savery deftly weaves
themes of trust and forgiveness into an interesting plot with
likeable characters.

Rebecca Of Sunnybrook
FarmSet in America sometime before cars, a girl lives with her strict
aunt and doesn’t always appreciate the ways of her aunt. The
girl has the opportunity to go to school, and at some point in the
book spends some time with her father and his wife (he was a
widower). While the girl very much likes her father’s wife,
she is uncomfortable with some of her habits such as leaving dirty
dishes overnight, something her aunt would never do. It
seems to me there are some early scenes in a school house, but
that she is later able to go to college – somehow she is a
writer. There was a boy who was attentive to her for help
with his studies. She had to figure this one out on her
own. Her father’s mother taught at the college. I
recall a boy pursuing her and the girl having to be very bold with
him. I think one of the contemporaries becomes pregnant, but
the topic is not discussed overtly. Somewhere along the way
she prefers living with the aunt in the big old house and
following her disciplined way of living. I fear I am mixing
up this novel with Up a Road Slowly and Girl of the
Limberlost, but it really is another title. I also
have a scene in my mind about the girl and her friend selling soap
to make money and a handsome gentleman buying it all. He
ultimately becomes the girl’s benefactor and falls in love with
her (it may have been love at first sight and then benefactor),
but I cannot even remember if this is the same book! Oh, you
can see what a muddle I’m in. Thank you so much for your
help!

Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca of
Sunnybrook Farm
I'm not sure whether you may be recalling more than one book,
but the episode with Mr. Ladd and the Excelsior Soap Company is
from Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (there may also be a bit of New
Chronicles of Rebecca in your recollections).Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm The
soap-selling scene is from Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca of
Sunnybrook Farm I think
this is what you are looking for.Wiggin, Kate Douglas, Rebecca of
Sunnybrook Farm This is
a guess, because it's been so long since I've read it. She does
live with aunts and she sells 300 cakes of soap to a man. The
book is available free online
and here is the chapter where she sells the soap.Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca Of
Sunnybrook Farm.(1903)
The first part of your post does sound like Up a Road
Slowly. But the lasr part sounds like Rebecca
Of Sunnybrook Farm. In chapter 14 Rebecca
sells a great amount of soap to Mr. Aladdin. I believe he helps
her with college somehow. She lives with her Aunt Miranda.Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca of
Sunnybrook Farm.
I think some, although not all, of what you are remembering is Rebecca
of Sunnybrook Farm, in which Rebecca leaves her
loving but slovenly family to live with her strict Aunt Miranda.
In particular, there is an episode where Rebecca and her friend
Emma Jane go out selling soap door to door in order to raise
money for a poor family. Her spiel contains the fact that the
soap is so pure that it could be eaten by an invalid "with
relish and profit." They meet a young man called Adam Ladd, whom
she thinks of as Mr. Aladdin, and charms so much that he buys
her entire supply of soap (and we get a pretty strong suspicion
that one day the two will fall in love).Hunt, Irene, Up A Road Slowly. I am 100% certain that this is the
correct solution for this poster's query. This was one of my
favorite childhood books and I have read it so many times that I
have huge passages memorized and often annoy my children with
random quotes.Thank you all. It looks like I was
remembering a combination of at least Up a Road Slowly
and Rebecca of Sunnybrook (title I had completely
forgotten). Thanks for the reminder!

Rebecca's
World:
Journey to the Forbidden Planeta girl who is looks through a
telescope at a planet and sees someone looking back and then she
is transported to this place. she travels with 3 space characters
- no trees anywhere, glass buildings only - has to get to the last
tree located at some far place - date 1976 - 83? Paperback,
purple/white cover.

Terry Nation, Rebecca's World,
1976, copyright. Here is the cover:
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/n/terry-nation/rebeccas-world.htm.
Here is a description of the book: Rebecca's World
is about a litle girl who gets sucked through a telescope into
another world. The baddie on the world has chopped down all the
trees to make glass buildings, but the trees kept away the ghosts,
so Rebecca and her friends follow a map to find the last tree to
collect the seeds. It was penned for his daughter Rebecca.
Terry Nation also created the Daleks in the science fiction
television series "Doctor Who" and the television series
"Survivors" and "Blake's 7."Terry Nation, Rebecca's
World: Journey to the Forbidden Planet, 1976,
copyright. I can't check this, because the copy I thought
I owned has vanished, but your mention of glass buildings and a
girl with three companions triggered a memory of this book, and
the reviews on Amazon UK (for instance,
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3EK8PERIOFWLE/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm)
have me convinced. Alternative title: "Rebecca's World"
(the subtitle doesn't always make it into the listings, and may
not be on the spine of the book either).Terry Nation, Rebecca's
World: Journey to the Forbidden Planet, August 27,
1976. Both descriptions are exactly how I remember the
story, I thought perhaps the title was different. I
originally thought the title was Jenny, but a link to the
Amazon.com site, led to me to a cover that I
remember!!! Wow, now I have to try and find a copy.
-----------------------------------I
was read this book sometme around 1985. All i can remember is that
the main character figures (her?) way out of the story at
the end by finding 'the needle', except that the needle turns out
to be a huge mountain shaped like a needle where she started out..

SOLVED: Terry Nation, Rebeccas World - Journey to the Forbidden
Planet. Thank you for
posting my book stumper 'needle shaped mountain. Amazingly I
showed the posting to a friend who was correctly able to identify
my book... I thought I had asked everyone I had ever met! The book
is called 'Rebeccas world - journey to the forbidden planet' by a Welsh author called Terry
Nation, who also used to write for the BBC, for the 'doctor who'
series. It truly is the most amazing book for children, hopefully
I will be able to find a copy in the UK as I would love my boy to
read it (when he learns to read as he's only two!), and this may
help another reader one dayRebel on a Rock I read this book in the 80s. A girl goes on vacation to an
island with her family. I think she's British. She is red-haired
and fair-skinned like her mother, whom she resents. She has two
adopted younger siblings who are Black; I think the little sister
might be named Alice. While they are on the island, there is a
coup. I think the father of the family might be friends with
either the deposed leader or the new one. There's a scene where
the girl climbs up a mountain with her father and there are
tons of blue butterflies the color of faded jeans.

Nina Bawden, Rebel on a Rock.Thanks! That definitely looks like it!

Rebel WitchI'm a little vague on the memories for this
light fantasy/humor book. It's about a boy from the
regular world who is chosen for some reason to be a
witch/warlock, or else he already unknowingly has ties or
magic. He is taken or travels to an enchanted woods
instantly by magic/teleportation, or some device. There is some
plot afoot that cause dangers and complications - a power
struggle maybe. He has a helper who is often frustrated by
the boy's lack of understanding of the situation and his
reckless actions. The helper is not quite human. I
think he is human-sized, but looks sort of froggish. At
one point, when the boy meets up with him he is disgruntled and
worried. The boy cheers him up by telling him his new
cloak looks "spiffy", and it seems to work. That always
stuck with me for some reason. I always thought the name
of the book was something Witchwood, but I don't think that's
exactly it.

Jack Lovejoy, The Rebel Witch. The Rebel Witch is about a girl, Suzie, who is
a witch's apprentice. An evil warlock is about to let loose
ghosts and monsters that have been trapped on the alternate
world, Veneficon. The warlock imprisons Suzie's
teacher. Suzie steals the Wand of Necromancers and
attempts to stop him and rescue her teacher. She is aided
by twin acrobats (a boy and a girl) and the Wand's Servant,
Wumpo, a frog-like man. Wumpo is at first confused because
only necromancers use the Wand to summon him. Wumpo is a
very vain person and is greatly concerned about his appearance
and there is a scene where Suzie compliments him on his
cloak. Suzie travels to the alternate world in order to
find her teacher and ends up doing battle with the evil
warlock. While the protagonist is a girl, many of the plot
elements are similar to the description.Diana Wynne Jones. It sounds
like her sort of plot, though I can't identify a specific book.Thank you! This is definitely the book I was
seeking.

Red CarI am looking for the title of a childrens book I red in the early
1950s. It was about a boy who helped rebuild a wrecked red race
car. It was a MG. The Boy had a friend who was a mechanic and
helped him do the work. There is one "story" in the book where the
boy drops one of the "master mechanic's" tools while working on
the car, and then has to use "older" tools

Red EmbersI don't know the author, title, or
character names, but I remember reading a book (may have been
part of a short series) for pre-teens or young teens that seemed
quite old-fashioned when I checked it out of my middle school
library around 1981, so probably written in the 1950s. The
main character was a girl, and she and her friends had polo
ponies and spent a lot of time practicing for polo games.

Dorothy Lyons, Red Embers, 1948. This matches many of the
elements of the book you are looking for. "This is the story of
Phil Blake and her desire to play Polo and train ponies.
She is the daughter of a renowened polo player and friends with
the sons of another ex-player. The story continues with
her joining a polo team and seeking her dreams."Dorothy Lyons, Red Embers. Perhaps it's this one? It's
aout a girl from a polo-playing family who then goes on tour
with a women's polo team.Dorothy Lyons, Red Embers, 1948. This sounds like Red Embers
by the popular Dorothy Lyons. Not technically part of a
series, but one of the dozen girl and horse books she wrote
between 1939 and 1973, most with lovely cover art by Wesley
Dennis (the cover art for this title also appears in
Marguerite Henry's Album of Horses, under Polo Pony).
The similar cover art makes many think its a true series, but
she had only two recurring characters: Connie in Silver Birch
(English pleasure), Midnight Moon (hunter/jumper), Golden
Sovereign (western pleasure) and Copper Khan (thoroughbred
racing), and Ginny in Java Jive (western and English pleasure)
and Smoke Rings (Olympic showjumping and three day eventing).
Her other heroines appeared in one book each....Blue Smoke
(quarter horse racing), Dark Sunshine (competitive endurance
riding), Bright Wampum (rodeo), Pedigree Unknown
(hunters/jumpers), Harlequine Hullabaloo - also reprinted by
Grosset and Dunlap as Bluegrass Champion (American Saddlebred)
and Red Embers (polo). Titles were always the horse's names, and
horses were always named based on their color. In Red
Embers, the girl begins riding and training polo ponies on her
father's ranch....she and her brothers get up matches with boys
on a neighboring ranch, but she is the real pro, with the
deepest interest in the sport. She goes on to join a team of
girl riders, with international hopes....a great read.

Red
FeatherFairies steal human children to do housekeeping and leave a
changeling in their place. In this case something goes
wrong and the fairy child is (unwittingly) taken back to
fairyland. There is a scene in which a fairy wearing white
gloves runs a finger on something to check for dust, and there is
dust, but it's gold dust.

William Mayne, The Changeling. I haven't read it, but it's a possibility.
Another, less likely, possibility is The Changelingby
Rosemary SutcliffFischer, Marjorie, Red Feather, 1937. In Fischer's story, mortals are
indeed prized for their housekeeping abilities, andso the Queen of Fairyland wants a mortal
maid. The changeling is made, alas, a little too perfect
in every detail, and when interrupted in the swap the fairies
can not tell for sure which baby is human and which fairy.
Was the human or the fairy whisked away to work in Fairyland? In
which world does Rosemary and in which does Lisa
belong? The Queen does, indeed, inspect for
cleanliness by running a white-gloved hand over surfaces she is
outraged to find gold dust.Thank you, thank you, for the solution to my changeling
story. I even remembered the right name, but didn't
include it in my request because every time I looked up that
title I got something quite different (I think it had to do with
Native Americans). Now to find the book.

The Red Shoes1940s. This book has many other stories in
it but the only one i kinda remember is a story called the red
shoes or the little red shoes.Its about a little girl that puts
on the red shoes after she was told not to and she begins
dancing and can not stop. Her feet were
sore and bleeding and thats all i can remember.My grandaddy
would read this to me when i was a child. I am now 71 and would
love to read this story again. Thanks for any help you can give
me.

Hans Christian Andersen, "The Red
Shoes,"I have this story in a collection of Hans
Christian Andersen's work. It is a short story of only a
few pages.Hans Christian Andersen, "The Red
Shoes,"1850. The story you're looking for is undoubtedly Hans
Christian Andersen's "The Red Shoes." The publishing date
is a guess on my part based on when his story collections and
plays were being printed. It's been included in many, many short
story collections since then, so its hard to pinpoint the exact
book you might have had....if it was an all Andersen collection,
it would probably also have included "The Ugly Duckling," "The
Little Match Girl," "the Little Mermaid" and "The Emperor's New
Clothes," among others. "The Red Shoes was also the
basis for a movie of the same title, released in 1954 and
starring Moira Shearer.This is Hans Christian Andersen's
story "The Red Shoes." You can find it in any of
his anthologies, but if you're looking for an exact book, you'll
need to provide more info -- cover description, other stories
you remember, etc.Hans Christian Andersen, "The Red
Shoes."There are different versions of this fairy tale,
but I think the one you're looking for is Hans Christian
Andersen's version.

Red Sun GirlOkay... when I was a kid in daycare... prolly around 1987-88-89
era.... I read a children's book about a world with a red sun/moon
and blue sun/moon... during one sun/moon, everyone was
human...during the other, everyone changed into an animal of some
sort. One little girl couldn't change into an animal, and was
shunned, or laughed out of the village...I think she wouldn't come
outside during the sun or moon that changed everyone into an
animal. Anyway, she ran away from the village and wandered out
into the desert, and an old lady (somehow) helped her to change
into a bird. The book was in color... I remember a page in the
book that was telling how everyone turned into an animal, and on
that page LOTS of animals were walking around in the village... I
remember a mom pushing a baby in a stroller, and both were
different species of animal. I hope this helps... I've been
looking for this book for a long time.

Marzollo, Jean, Blue Sun Ben, 1984, Dial. "In a world of two suns, Ben,
who is a boy during Red Sun and a chipmunk during Blue Sun,
falls into the clutches of the Animal Singer, an evil man who
changes people and animals intoshapes to suit his own purposes."Jean Marzollo, Claudio Marzollo, Red
Sun Girl, 1983.
One of my all-time favorite "easy-reader" books.Marzollo, Jean and Claudio, Red Sun
Girl,
illustrated by Susan Meddaugh. NY Putnam 1983. "In a world
of two suns, Kiri is the only human being who does not change
into an animal each day after the blue sun rises, but a magic
ruby and the Animal Singer help her out of her predicament."
This is probably it - I read it once, and the Animal Singer is
an old woman in the desert. All the people turn into different
sorts of animals, and I remember scenes as described. I kept
wondering what they ate, and what if one person turned into a
predator of another? The book struck me as questionable in
several ways. Kiri's family and village are unaccepting of her
difference, and she must learn to be the same as them, at
considerable risk,before they welcome her back. The Animal
Singer gives her a ruby that keeps her from dying of thirst, and
she trades it to another magical person for the ability to
transform, but the ruby comes back to her magically, so she
never pays for her new ability, nor is it a gift, because the
other magical person wanted the ruby and did not return it
willingly. When she returns home, no one in her family seems
particularly distressed about her having vanished, or the
possibility that she might have died of thirst in the desert. I
don't demand a moral in children's books, but the morality in
this one seemed to be negative!
----------------------
I'm looking for the title and author of a children's picture
book (or possibly an early reader book) where a girl runs away
(or just leaves the house for awhile?) on a planet that is
definitely not Earth (or maybe Earth of the future). I read this
in the late 80s/early 90s, but could have been published
earlier.Update: I believe
the drawings were mostly line black ink (maybe some blue
and/or red ink line drawings as well). The houses were
little domes (looks like half circles) and the girl took
water with her, which was in (what looked like) a glass
bulbous flask. The cover (I believe) was mostly white.

Marzollo, Jean, Red sun girl,1983. Perhaps this early reader book about a
girl that runs away to find her animal form that she should have
when the blue sun rises?SOLVED: Marzollo, Jean, Red Sun Girl.G613 has been solved! The
person who posted that the book is Red Sun Girl by Jean Marzollo
is correct! Thank
you (my wife is very excited that the book has been solved)!!

Redwood PioneerA boy moves to northern California, in the redwoods. At
first he is frightened of the deep old forests, but he befriends a
naturalist and grows to love them. Certain items of this
book I remember in great detail: the boy sleeps out in the woods
and awakens to find a slug in his hair...the boy loses his fear of
the animals in the woods but is still afraid of the big
trees...the boy gets a sketch pad as a gift from the naturalist so
that he no longer needs to sketch on lined paper. I read it
in about 1965, and I believe it dates to the 1950s. It is
NOT the book "Kildee House" by Rutherford Montgomery.

Betty Stirling, Redwood Pioneer, 1955. I've been
looking for this book for ten years, and I've finally found
it. My thanks to all the inter-library loan librarians
who've gotten me copies of books that I thought might be this
one. (The book in my hands today was lent to me in Ohio by
the library of Los Angeles State College.) Unfortunately,
it took so long for me to find the book that my own kids are now
too old for it... Grandkids, perhaps?

Reggie's
No-Good BirdLooking for a book I checked out at the library as a child. It
was about a little boy and a blue jay. This would have been in the
early 1970's. Sorry not much to go on.

Possibly Ruth Sawyer Old Con and
Patrick Viking, 1946, illustrated by Cathal
O'Toole. "Patrick, crippled with infantile paralysis, is
given two pets by his grandfather, a puppy and a bluejay with a
shriveled leg."Maybe Reggie's No-good Bird
by Burchardt, Nellie, illustrated by Harold Berson,
published New York, Franklin Watts 1967, 8vo Weekly Reader "A
heart warming story about an inner city boy who rescues a baby
blue jay and how as the two grow up he finds a purpose for his
life."B54 bluejay: more on one suggested - Reggie's
no-good bird, by Nellie Burchardt,
illustrated by Harold Berson, published New York: F. Watts,
[1967], 140 p. illus. 21 cm. "When the biggest troublemaker
in the class injures a baby blue jay and decides to care for
it and raise it, he finds himself without the time or interest
to get into trouble."

Reindeer
of
the
WavesI'm hoping someone can help me locate a
book from my childhood that is apparently very obscure! I
believe it was called The Viking Ship but I could be wrong about
the title. It was not about viking life per se, but
rather, about a boy's search for his father, who had been
abducted by vikings, aided by a friend who knew the missing man
had saved his own father's life because of a twin tapestry in
the home of the missing man. The boy and his sister scavenge the
beach for amber to finance the search, and the son finally finds
the father being sold as a slave at a fair by vikings and
rescues him by buying him with the amber. The book would
have been from the 50's or pre-50's, likely 30's. As a
child I didn't have the sense to pay any attention to the
author's name. It may have been published in the British
Isles, since I have scoured boxes of cards in the National
Library of Congress card catalog (viking, Norsemen, Northmen,
etc.) to no avail. Book store book searches aren't feasible
because of all the false positives from non-fiction books on
viking ships. My only hope is to find someone else who
remembers this book who can help me to reconstruct the specifics
to be able to search for it. Forgive me for sounding maudlin,
but if I can find this book again it will be like having a piece
of my own father back (he died when I was a teen) (he brought
this book home from the school where he taught, where it was
being discarded, when I was a kid, & this was the book I
"imprinted" on!). Any help anyone might be able to provide
would be immensely appreciated!

V-6 sounds similar to Bjorn the
Proud by Madeline Polland. I haven't
read it for years though, so I'm not sure that's it. She
did write a couple other books about Vikings, I think. It
may be worth checking out!It's not Viking but Norwegian, but there are
points - The Secret Fiord by Geoffrey Trease,
illustrated by Joe Krush, published Harcourt 1950, 241 pages. "What
happened to their father, a master stone mason who was working
on the cathedral in Bergen about 1400, is the problem that the
twins, Jillian and Roger have to solve. Escaping from their
treacherous uncle, they fall into the kindly hand of Adam
Dean, who allows them to flee England aboard his trading ship,
bound for Norway. Here they feel the power of the Hanseatic
League and also find kindness on the part of the Norwegian
people, which eventually leads to a happy ending."Another possibility, but still not really
Vikings - Simon's Way by Margery Evernden,
illustrated by Frank Newfield, published Walck 1963 "Simon's
search for his father leads him from France to Norway, where
hebecomes involved in the struggle for the
Norse throne in the 13th century." (Best Books for
Children 1965)Rita Ritchie, Ice Falcon. I've kept coming back to this one for months...
I give up. I'll just jump in with this even though I'm not sure.
I *am* 100% sure I've read the book described, and Rita Ritchie
"feels" right as the author. (I dearly loved and focused on her
Mongolian novels, but also read and enjoyed all the rest of her
historical fiction I could get my hands on.) I'm not sure if ICE
FALCON is the right one--and can't find any sort of synopsis, or
even a bibliography, to give me a clue. (Very frustrating!) She
tended to use her research in more than one book, which means
there's probably more than one Viking-related story out there if
this isn't the right one.Ruth Harshaw, Reindeer of the Waves,
1934. You can FINALLY put this one to rest! Cathy,
of ExLibris
The
Lost Boards, has found this for me and returned a
chunk of my childhood to me. I have cried my eyes out
looking at these pages again after nearly 5 decade! I so
appreciate the attempts many of you have made, and did obtain
and enjoy some of your suggestions, and just had to let you
know the answer!

Reluctant
PrincessI had a book as a child, that no one remembers except for me. I
don't know the author or the title. Told you is was a
stumper. It had a pink paper dust jacket. I believe it
was set in India, Thailand, or some similiar place. It
starts out with a bird dying in a fire and follows it's
reincarnations. A series of stories follow. One
involves a family. One a princess (I
believe "princess" is in the title) behind a screen being told
stories to win her love? It was published before 1976, not
sure how long before because I no longer remember how long I had
it. Any help you can offer would be so appreciated as I am
heartsick that I have lost this book.

Hi! I DO remember this book - think
it is at home on my bookshelf. I am almost sure the author
is Edith Nesbit, and the book is The Phoenix and
the Carpet or The Carpet and the Phoenix
- the phoenix in the story is quite a grumpy
bird. Hope this helps!Nesbit, E. The Phoenix and the Carpet.
Originally, 1904.

Actually I solved my stumper. And the title is The
Relucant Princess, published by Tuttle in Vermont in
1963. It's a tale from Siam. I found a copy and it's
as wonderful as I remembered. Thank you for responding.

Remarkable
Plant
in
Apartment 4Houseplant takes over apartment building and introduces
residents. This book was probably from the early to mid 70's. A
young boy who lives in an apartment building in a city or borough
buys a small houseplant from a guy on the street. It grows rapidly
and snakes through the building, which leads to the introduction
of the various residents.

Maestro, Giulio, The Remarkable
Plant in Apartment 4,
1973. "A boy's little green plant causes turmoil when it
grows overnight into all the other apartments in his building."Zion, Gene, Plant Sitter. I think this might be it.

Remarkable Return of
Winston Potter CrisplyThe main thing I remember about this book
is that two kids are following their older, college-aged brother
around NYC (I think) because he seems like he might be involved
in something shady. He's not supposed to be in NYC, he's
supposed to in medical school (or maybe a semester at sea?). But
it turns out that he now wants to be an artist and is scheduling
his first show. For some reason the younger kids repeatedly
bring up how much their brother loves blueberry blintzes.

Rice, Eve, The Remarkable Return of
Winston Potter Crisply.
NY Greenwillow 1978. I think it's this one - "When they
discover that their older brother, supposedly studying at
Harvard, is secretly visiting New York, Becky and Max decide to
do some sleuthing which leads them to a series of rollicking
adventures."

RememberThe story was about a Russian Wolfhound
(Borzoi) who belonged to a teenaged boy who took nature
photographs. One day, the boy is shot and killed, and the
dog must move on to other homes... kind of like a "Black Beauty"
story, but with a dog. I think the name of the boy was
Dana or Gordon, I think the story took place in Canada, and I
think the title was one word--the name of the dog. I
probably read it in the late 70s, possibly early 80s.

Lynn Hall, Riff, Remember, 1970's. This is the story of Riff, a
Russian Wolfhound (also known as a Borzoi), whose owner, a boy
named Gordy, is killed.Lynn Hall, Riff, Remember,1973.I'm writing to say "THANKS!!" to whomever it was who remembered
the title and author of my book! I'm so excited.
thanks for your wonderful service--it is very much worth the
price.

Remember Me
When This You See - A New Collection of Autograph VersesANOTHER poetry book that I've been
wondering about is one that I borrowed from my
library-constantly!! It is about 4 inches tall and about 7
inches wide I guess. That book had a sort of celophane
jacket as well but it was green and it seems to me like there
were black outlines drawings of flowers?? Maybe?? I
remember a few things in the book, there was one page that
simply said: "Don't make love in a potato field, potatoes
have eyes" and another page had this poem... John in a
taxi, Paul in a car, George in a scooter tootin' his hooter,
Following Ringo Starr.

Check out the poetry of Roger McGough
-- he was associated with Peter Max and the Beatles.John Lennon sketched a bit himself.
Possible he illustrated the book you're seeking?John Lennon, In His Own Write,1965. Just an idea. I never actually got
to read the book, because it was always out at ourlibrary. It was probably stolen, I
realized later. This sounds like it could be it.I know In His Own Write is
blue... but I don't have one in stock to look for the
quoted poems.Lillian Morrison, Remember Me
When This You See - A New Collection of Autograph Verses
by the compiler of Yours till Niagara Falls, 1961. Illustrated
by Marjorie Bauernschmidt - black line-drawings. The size
of the book is 5 inches tall by 7.5 wide. The cover is green
with an illustration of a boy and girl and flowers. The
endpapers are illustrated with black line-drawings of flowers.
This book is a compilation of "children's folklore"- playground
verses and silly sayings collected by a children's librarian.
The original edition contains the "potatoes" verse (repeated in
Jennifer Donnelly's "A Northern Light" (2004) as "Never make
love in the country the potatoes have eyes and the corn have
ears" :-) . Since you also remember the parody Christmas
carol "We Four Lads From Liverpool Are", you might want to try a
later edition of Remember Me it may have been
added post- British invasion (1964) ; or try one of the author's other compilations.
"We Four Lads" was also recorded by the British folk group The
Spinners on their 1972 Christmas album, "Sing Out, Shout With
Joy" (part of the medley "Kid's Carols") it is also in the
textbook An Introduction to Poetry, eds. XJ Kennedy and Dana
Gioia.

Report on the Nature of
the Lunar SurfaceI read this while a patient at Tripler Army
General Hospital in the Spring of 1967. The book was found
in the hospital library. This was a very short story, I believe
about 2 to 3 pages. It was in the form of a memo from an
officer on the Moon to his superior on Earth. The memo
discusses the fact that because one of the technicians working
on the rocket left his limberger cheese sandwich in the works of
the rocket, and the moon does contain [what amounts to a
nutrient solution], the moon is now made of green cheese.

Representing Super DollThe little bit I remember about this book
is that it's a young adult novel, (not sure from what time
period), about two friends. One is very beautiful, but somewhat
stupid, and one is only mediocre looking, but quite intelligent.
The beautiful girl isn't always nice to the smart girl. The
pretty one is a pageant winner, and has to go across country for
some promotional reason and takes her friend with her. The
beauty queen is supposed to go on some sort of game show where
they have one real person in a profession, and two people faking
it. Contestents are supposed to figure out which one is the real
person by asking them questions. The smart girl gets roped into
being on the show because one of the fake beauty queens backs
out at the last moment...and the contestents on the show think
she's the real beauty queen, because although she's not the
prettiest, smarts are just as important to a beauty queen as
looks (and the stupid girl comes off as really, really stupid).

Richard Peck, Representing
SuperdollRichard Peck, Representing Super
Doll, 1974.I think
this might be the one you're looking for. Verna has scored an
all-expenses-paid weekend in New York-if she promises to keep an
eye on her friend Darlene during the Super Doll USA finals. It's
an offer a farm girl can't refuse. But what sounds simple starts
to fall apart under the bright lights of the big city. Darlene
may be as dumb as she is gorgeous-but she's wising up fast. And
if anything goes wrong, it's Verna who has to come up with an
explanation.Richard Peck, Representing Super Doll.
Thanks to whoever figured this out -- I recognized the title
as soon as I saw it.

Rescue
of RancorA girl who has problems with her spells.
Whenever she curses, things appear. For instance, if she
says "Oh Fish!" pounds of fish will fall on her
head. I think there may be something about an evil
magician.

Wilanne Schneider Belden, The Rescue of Ranor,
1983. I did some searching on some library sites.
Thanks to all ofthose librarians out there who create "suggested reading" lists
with different categories.

Rescue
of the Hidden Goldpaperback title: Snow TreasureThe book I am searching for is one based in WWII times.
About a small town that was trying to protect its gold bullion
from the Germans. The town folks had the kids put the gold
bars between them and their sleds and would sled down the hill to
the bottom for safekeeping in caves. I read this sometime in the
70s and probably was published by Scholastic. Sorry that's
all I know. thanks for your help.

#W69--WWII Gold: Hardcover title The
Rescue of the Hidden Gold, Scholastic paperback
title Snow Treasure, author Marie McSwigan.W69: Snow Treasure by Marie
McSwigan, 1942. A true story of children outwitting Nazis.W69 is definitely Snow Treasure
by Marie McSwigan.W69 It's SNOW TREASURE by Marie
McSwigan, 1942. I believe it appears on the Solved
Mysteries page ~from a librarianW69 WWII gold: This has got to be Snow
Treasure,
by Marie McSwigan, illustrated by Mary
Reardon, first published New York, Dutton 1942, reprinted
several times by Scholastic. The story is about Norwegian
children smuggling gold past the occupying Nazi army, hiding it
in snowmen and moving it on their sleds. Probably 20 other
people will know this one too, it's a classic.

Rescued HeartThe story of a teen girl who learns about
life during a summer spent with her parents in a desert trailer
park. It opens with the girl in a convertible on the freeway I
believe in California. I remember she had long blonde hair,but
cannot remember any names from the book. She
discovers through reading a letter from her mother to a relative
that they are going to the desert for her health, which is not
what she was told. Some of the characters in the
book include a neighbor in a trailer who is loud,nosy and
intolerant, a group of migrant workers who arrive after her
family, and a drifter who jumps off a frieght train, he is sort
of mentor to the girl, showing her different ways to see
things. She has a romance with one of the
migrant workers and he gives her a necklace he fashions from a
silver coin. I remember the title may have some allusion
to the 'To everything there is a season'verses from the Bible
and it may even be in the book at the close

This sure sounds just like T303. I would
have to say my suggestion is The Rescued Heart by
Edgar and Annabel Johnson.T-303 & T-312: Aren't these two
the same book?Miklowitz, Gloria, A Time to
Hurt, Time to Heal, 1974. This is just a total guess based on
the title. I can't find a plot summary, but a scan of the
cover online reads: "Tracy was miserable at home...but then she
met Randy!"

Resident WitchI read this chapter book when I was 9 or 10
which would have been in 1970's. It was about a little girl who
was a witch living with relatives other than parents, it was her
sisters or aunts or something. She lived in a room at top of
house and could look out. She was in training as a witch.
Her aunts (or whoever she lived with) were constantly
disappointed at what little she could do magic-wise. She
wore crazy striped stockings. She wanted to go to the carnival
but it wasn't allowed. I think she made a friend which her
family didn't approve of because no one could know they were
witches. I can't remember the character's name or
anything else, though I do remember I really liked the book and
want to find it for my daughter. Please help!

The Resident Witch.
Sounds like this one. The little girl witch makes friends
with a human girl (they meet at a carnival). I remember
something about a spaceship ride at the carnival. I have
it at home, I will check and see if the details match up!Y20 It's NOT Cassie Bowen takes witch
lessons, by Anna Grossnickle Hines. For one
thing it is published in 1985.I wrote this book stumper, and I bet you're right that it is The
Resident
Witch. I remember the spaceship ride at the
carnival. I bet this is it.Thanks for the help with this stumper! It IS The
Resident Witch. I was lucky enough to find one
recently after being given the title here on this website.
Thanks!
--- My mom read me a book about a little girl who was a
witch. I think she went ot an amusement park. Maybe
had an aunt in the story. I was pretty young 7-8?

Marian T. Place, Resident Witch. A witch in training works in an amusement
park to try to get a promotion.Marian T. Place, The Resident Witch, 1970. This sure sounds like The Resident
Witch, by Marian Place. A young witch (Witcheena) goes to
a carnival to cause mischief, but instead makes a human friend
(Nancy). She can't let humans discover that she is a real witch,
or she will turn into a toad, so she magically disguises herself
in human clothes, sneakers, & sunglasses, but still talks
frequently about being a witch to Nancy, who doesn't believe
her. She enchants a Moon Ship (from a carnival ride) and flies
around in it, preferring it over her broom because it is warm
& dry inside. She and her aunt, with whom she lives, must
move from their house to a cave, because Nancy's father has
purchased the property on which their allegedly empty house was
standing, to build an amusement park. She later enters a contest
at the new amusement park, to be chosen as the Resident Witch of
the park. The contest is held by Nancy's father, with the winner
selected by children attending the park's opening night. All of
the other contestents are human adults & children,
pretending to be witches, so Witcheena must pretend to be a
human child, pretending to be a witch. She is also trying to get
herself promoted to the rank of Junior Witch by the other
witches, and to convince them to establish a new rank of
Resident Witch at schools & amusement parks around the
country, to give Junior witches something to do.Marion Place, The Resident Witch, 1970. Maybe? "A lowly apprentice witch
seeks a promotion in witchdom by becoming Resident Witch for a
children's amusement park." This one is listed in the Solved
Mysteries.

Restituta
TueI want to find out the exact title and
author of a poem I recall parts of from a high school literature
class (about 45 years ago). It starts like
this: She lived in old St. Mary's / On the wide
Potomac shore / In the pleasant, happy province / Of his
Lordship Baltimore / She was young and gay and merry / And
polite to all she knew / And her name if you'd believe it /
Was Restitootytu [clearly a phonetic spelling]
I was able to get a friend from the "period" to help me recreate
the entire poem, but he didn't recall the exact title and author
either. I put in requests to English departments at
several colleges and universities, checked the Bartleby famous
quotes website (many times), visited the Enoch Pratt Library in
Baltimore and corresponded with folks there by e-mail -- all to
no avail. I heard about your service on NPR today and
decided to see if your system has someone in it who knows this
poem.

Several weeks have passed and my stumper has not yet been
"unstumped". I hope I haven't become delusional! If
so, maybe I could submit the poem as my original composition and
become famous (NOT!!!!). Surely there is someone out there
who knows about this little ditty. It is hard to believe
that my junior high or high school English literature class was
the only place on earth where this poem was considered in the
50s. I had the thought that it might have been derived
from a real person who lived in the 1600s in colonial Maryland,
Margaret Brent, who was entrusted with the task of settling the
affairs of Cecil Calvert, "his Lordship Baltimore" upon his
demise. She was "a woman ahead of her time" who sold off
assets to pay mercenaries in the employ of Calvert and, in that
role, made "restitution" for the debt incurred. I have the
rest of the words and will resubmit the entire poem at a later
time though the author and title still have not
materialized. I live in hope that there will be a
resolution to my "quest".

Stumper should rest assured that s/he is
not delusional I KNOW I had to read this when we studied
Maryland's history in fifth or sixth grade and I have been
racking my brain for the name of the woman in the poem, which
I'm sure will lead usto the poem itself.

She lived in Old St. Mary's on the
wide Potomac shore,In the pleasant, happy province of His Lordship
Baltimore.She was young and gay and merry and polite to
all she knew,And her name if you'd believe it was Restitude
Tu.

There were Margarets, there were Carolyns
and JanesThere were Sarahs and Luisas who walked
through the township lanes.There were Eleanors and Lucys, there were
Charlottes quite a few.But the girl who's best remembered was
Restitude Tu.

She dwelt within a cottage that was called
St. Peter's KeyBut no Tu ever set a lock on hospitality.The door had but a wooden lock with string
upon its frameTo give a silent welcome to anyone who came.

She worked, did Restitude at spinning wheel
and loom.She carded wool, spun harness twine and,
once, she made a broom.She washed the windows of the house she
polished silver plates.She kept the cows from coming through the
little garden gates.

She helped make candles in the spring and
soft soap in the fall.She planted ivy where it grew upon the garden
wall.Her days passed, oh, too swiftly, the hours
were all too few.For all the happy tasks which came To
Restitude Tu.

Is this why she's remembered? For
butter, cakes and pies?For weaving and for patchworks, for knitting
and for dyes?For deeds that all the other girls of
Maryland could do?Oh, no! She's known because her name was
Restitude Tu!

I still do not have a "solution" for the author of my poem.
Maybe there could be a "contest" for the longest-running Stumper!
Honestly, I have tried for many years to ferret out the answer to
my question. I have been to Enoch Pratt Library in
Baltimore, I have solicited Literature Departments at
various colleges and universities around the country, I have
gone to Bartleby's Famous Quotes and many other Internet sites. I
live in the hope that, before I join the saints, I will know who
wrote what is probably a poem called "Restitude Tu". Thanks for
making the opportunity available to put my question "out there".This may not be any help at all, especially
since the original seeker has likely already exhausted all such
resources -- but just in case -- is it possible that this might be
a folk song of the Baltimore region? It scans quite like the
"Oh Susannah" air. Although it isn't (that I can find) in the American Memory
database of folksongs. Perhaps a Maryland folklore or
folksong society might have more leads? Apologies if this is
all extraneous -- I do hope this lovely mystery is solved!There was a woman by this name. June 1st
1639: This day came John Hollis and made Oath that he is not
precontracted to any other woman then Restituta Tue, and that
there is no Impediment on his part nor to his knowledge on the
part of the Said Restituta why he Should not be married to her,
and he bindeth himself to the Lord Propriary in 1000 wt Tobo for
the truth of this Oath. June 2d 1639: This day came
Cutbert ffennick and Robert Perry and made Oath that they were
present and eye wittnesses of The Marriage of the Said John Hollis
with the Said Restituta this Instant day by Mr Thomas White.
Both entries from Archives of MD, Vol. 4, p. 52. Eod.
John Hollis & Restituta his wife, complaine agst Thomas Boys
for defaming her the said restituta, by saying of her these words,
that he would prove her (innuendo the said restituta) a whore, in
Court; for wch they demand satisfaction for her fame have the body
of Thomas Boys at the Court on 1st decemb next to answere
&c. (Archives of Maryland, Volume 4, Page 149).I can now "safely" call this poem Restituta
Tue.I had to memorize the poem about Restituta
Tue when I was in grade school in the 50s. So I
know it was in our readers. In fact I came to this website
because we were talking about the poem today at work.The poem "Restituta Tue" has another verse
which your inquirer does not include in her remembered version. If
I recall correctly this verse had something in it about how
Restituta made salads and that all agreed "the violet was the
best." Although I do not recall its author, the poem was in one of
the Faith and Freedom elementary school readers
which were used in my grade school. I believe the poem was either
in the seventh grade or the eighth grade reader (i.e. vol VII or
VIII) as I own volumes IV through VI and the poem is not in these
volumes. The readers were edited by Sister M. Thomas Aquinas,
O.P., M.A. and Mary Synon, LL.D. and published in 1943 by Ginn and
Company for the Catholic University of America. The last time I
read the poem must have been in 1950-1952. The readers have long
been out of print.It was the frequent custom among the Maryland
settlers (some of whom, like the original Restituta Tue were born
in England,) to give a child the name of the saint on whose feast
day it was born or baptized. Thus there is good reason to believe
that the original Restituta Tue was born on or near the date May
17 which is the feastday of Saint Restituta. The old Roman
Martyrology in use in the seventeenth century speaks of "Saint
Restituta, virgin and martyr, who was subjected to various kinds
of torture in Africa by the judge Proculus, in the reign of
Valerian, and then put in a boat filled with pitch and oakum, to
be burned to death on the sea. But the flame turned on those who
kindled it, and the saint yielded her soul to God in prayer. Her
body was by Divine Providence carried in the boat to the island of
Ischia. near Naples, where it was received by the Christians with
great veneration. A church was afterwards erected in her honor at
Naples by Constantine the Great." One can still go to see
the Church of Saint Restituta in the city of Naples and many
Neopolitan girls are named Restituta, but Restituta Tue may be the
only English girl ever to have that name. It might occur to
someone that it would be fun to search for the name Restituta Tue
through old baptistry records looking at the entries around May 13
in the years and places in which she was most likely to have been
born. However such a search would probably be quite fruitless
because Restituta Tue and her family were in all likelihood
recusants whose secret Catholic baptisms in that period were
illegal and therefore often unrecorded in order to avoid religious
persecution. Now I have a question of my own regarding the
poem. Where does the information come from that Restituta Tue of
colonial Saint Mary's City, Maryland lived in "a cottage called
Saint Peter's Key?" Why was the cottage called "Saint Peter's
Key?" Does anyone know?To answer the last question asked about
Restituta Tue "Why is her cottage called St. Peter's Key", the
answer is, because it was in an area off of St. Inigoes Creek
called St. Peter's Key, St. Mary's County Maryland, Elevation 23
feet, 38.170 degrees N Latitude, 76.416 degrees West
Longitude. Here is a link to an aerial topo map of the area:
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=38.17045&lon=-76.41629&datum=nad83&layer=DRGReturn
of the TwelvesThree English children are on holiday at
the house where the Brontes once lived. They know that Branwell
had a set of miniature soldiers, for whom he and his
sisters made up adventures, and when they find the soldiers they
too begin to make up stories. Then the soldiers come alive. The
funniest line belongs to the youngest child, who hears that one
of his parents' friends is a "great Bronte fan." He is sure that
a Bronte fan must be something like a brontosaurus... The style
is similar to Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series, but
I'm sure it isn't one of those books. I'd appreciate your help.
I've only recently found your site, and WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL
MY LIFE??

Need a book - This is a
story about 3 British children, they lived in or near the
Brontes Cottage Branwells tin soldeirs came
alive Heard one say Brontes fan
thought they said something like a dinosaur word or
Brontosaurus Susan Cooper?B55 This may be a false lead because
the description of the book made it sound like there was only
one kid, but how many books could there be about the Bronte's
toy soldiers coming to life? THE RETURN OF THE TWELVES
(originally titled THE TWELVE AND THE GENII) by Pauline
Clarke, 1962, reprinted 1981Pauline Clarke wrote a book about
the Bronte's toy soldiers coming to life which was published in
England as The Twelve and the Genii, and in the
US as The Return of the Twelves.B55, about the Brontes' toy soldiers coming
to life, is Pauline Clarke's Return of the Twelves(which
was
issued
under a different title in Great Britain, I believe).About Bronte action figures? Must be Pauline
Clarke's The Return of the Twelves. Hope
this helps, I discovered your site today and enjoyed browsing
through the mystery books.#B55 (Brontes) I can DEFINITELY, BEYOND THE
SHADOW OF A DOUBT, identify! Its British title is The
Twelve and the Genii, its American title is The
Return of the Twelves, its author is Pauline
Clarke. It won the 1962 Carnegie medal (British
equivalent of America's Newbery medal), and I have an extra
copy! Actually, I'm saving it for my nephew, but if you're
willing to cough up more than I think my nephew is worth, we'll
talk. Really, though, it's well-known and shouldn't be
*that* hard to find.B55 is The Twelve and the Genii
by Pauline Clarke. It was also republished under a
different name which I unfortunatelt cannot remember (I own an
original hardcover)B55 sounds like The Twelve and the
Genii by Pauline Clarke.B55 - I am sure of this one. It is The
Return of the Twelves by Pauline Clarke.
Great book!Thank you so much for finding the title
-- THAT'S IT!!! -- but (and thanks again) I don't think I want
it now. But I'll save this letter, and I'll recommend you to
everyone!---Toy Soldier... I am trying to find the title and author
of a juvenile fiction story about the lives of the bronte
children, from the point of view of their toys, specifically a
toy soldier.

T106 Sounds like it could be The
Return Of The Thwelves by Pauline Clarke,
1962, 1981. It's on your solved mysteries page.Pauline Clarke, The Return of the
Twelves, 1962. A
young boy's discovery of twelve wooden soldiers that once
belonged to the Brontë children leads to an exciting adventure.
Awarded the 1962 Carnegie Medal for the outstanding children's
book by an English author.Pauline Clarke, Return of the TwelvesClarke, Pauline, The Return of the
Twelves,1981,
c.1962. Originally published under the title: The
Twelve and the Genii, c. 1962 by
Coward-McCann. Republished in 1981 by Gregg Press.
The description reads: In his new home a young boy finds
twelve old wooden soldiers with definite personalities and a
fascinating history that once belonged to the famous Bronte
children.#T106--Toy soldier: This is on the
Solved Mysteries page under its American title, The
Return of the Twelves. Its British title is The
Twelve and the Genii, author Pauline Clarke.Pauline Clarke, The Return of the
Twelves, 1962.
Eight-year-old Max finds twelve wooden soldiers under some
floorboards. They were brought to life through the play of their
original owners, the Bronte children.---This is so vague, but I miss this book
terribly. It reminds me a lot of the Chronicles of
Narnia, in feel and in when I read it: late 60's, early 70's
(about age 10). Some kids (a brother and sister?) were
staying at grandparents (?) and were bored. They
explored I think their old Victorian home and found these toy
soldiers. They played with them and then the soldiers
came to life and led them into these adventures, leading them
into their world. Kind of a cross between Narnia and
Jumanji, come to think of it.

Knight's Castle, Edward Eager, 1956. This might be the one -- details
on it are kind of sketchy, but it basically fits. "When Ann and
Roger spend summer with their Aunt,they are disappointed but
soon learn that this will be the most wonderful summer ever!
They & friends end up magically in the days of Ivanhoe!"
(Well, they end up in the days of Ivanhoe with their toy
soldiers, anyway...) If that's not it, check out Elizabeth
Winthrop's The Castle in the Attic, though it fits
the description a little less well.Edward Eager, Knights CastlePauline Clarke, The Return of the
Twelves, 1962.
Maybe this one? The Return of the Twelves
by Pauline Clarke, illustrations by Bernarda Bryson.
What is the power of make-believe? That's the question most
books for young readers ask, and few answer it with as much
charm and conviction as this delightful little story that begins
when Max Morley, age eight, discovers, beneath a floorboard in
the old farmhouse his family has just moved into, twelve old
wooden soldiers. Under his careful watch, the "Twelves" come to
life. There is also a connection to the Bronte children.
Originally published in 1962.."Edward Eager, Knight's Castle. Very likely!T166 ?? Clarke, Pauline The
return of the twelves.Max loved all twelve wooden
soldiers, [in the attic] and he longed to share his secret about
them. They were alive!#T166--Toy Soldiers Come to Life: In
some ways resembles The Return of the Twelves, by
Pauline Clarke. British title The Twelve and
the Genii.Pauline Clarke, Return of the Twelve.
Yes! I loved that book
and just last month asked at the bookstore to see if it was
still in print (no). A complete gem! I'm sure that is the one
you are talking about because I also was crazy about Narnia at
the time.---Fiction novel, circa 1960, about the Brontes as children, and a
set of toy soldiers that came to life....

Pauline Clarke, The Return of the
Twelves. I think
the British title was The Twelve and the Genii.Pauline Clarke, The Return of the
Twelves, 1921.
This was available from acommonreader.com a few years ago.
May still be in print.Pauline Clarke, Return of the
Twelves. More
under "solved mysteries"Clarke, Pauline, Return of the
twelves, 1962. On
your solved page. In his new home a young boy finds twelve
old wooden soldiers with definite personalities and a
fascinating history that once belonged to the famous Brontë
children.Clarke, Pauline, Return of the
Twelves, 1962.
Found this on your Solved page. It was released in England
with the title The Twelve and the Genii.B321 This was published in 1962 as THE
TWELVE AND THE GENII by Pauline Clarke, and
later republished as RETURN OF THE TWELVES in
1981.~from a librarianPauline Clarke, Return of the
Twelves. I
found it in the Solved Mysteries section... is this a different
book?Pauline Clarke, The Return of the
Twelve, 1961. The
British title is The Twelve and the Genii. "The
Bronte children first brought the twelve wooden soldiers to
life, and now, more than a hundred years later, they are
rediscovered by two modern-day Genii, Max and Jane. But the
undaunted soldiers are now so dangerously previous that
collectors from all over the world are searching for them. The
modern Genii must find a place where the Twelve can be safe for
ever. This is a story of great imagination, linking the present
with the past."

RevelationA guy comes out of a tomb or a temple or
some other sealed up ancient building in Jerusalem that no one
even knew would open. He doesn't know who he is or where he came
from. This is a miraculous event that causes people to
throng to him, thinking it is some sort of Second Coming. This
causes a lot of consternation among the Jewish officials. There
is a man involved, a former Israeli army guy, perhaps a member
of Mossad. There is also a woman involved and she is
either a reporter or an archaeologist or a doctor or some sort
of scientist helping to investigate who this guy is.
Probably published sometime in the 1970's or 80's.

Harbison, W. A., Revelation, 1983. Can't remember all the details but
it sounds familiar. I think that a giant monument appeared
on the Temple Mount or some other simular place and Jesus walked
out of it.

Revelations
in BlackThere was a book I loved at about age 10 in
1965. The title, author, plot, etc. have all disappeared from my
memory. The only thing I remember is that there was a woman who
entered and disappeared from the various scenes leaving the
scent of heliotrope. She might have been a ghost. That isn't
much to go on but maybe it will jar a reader's memory.

Check out The Little White Horse by Elizabeth
Goudge on the Solved Mysteries page. Carl Jacobi, Revelations in
Black. This is a
short story about a vampire. The narrator finds a book in
an antique shopand everything he reads about in the story
happens to him. He meets a beautiful woman named Perle who
wears a lot of heliotrope that seems to mask something
terrible. She vanishes. It turns out that she is a
vampire, but can only attack someone who reads the book.
Great story. I have it in an anthology called Monster
Festival (c. 1965), edited by Eric Protter and
illustrated by Edward Gorey. It might also be in Jacobi's
book Disclosures in Scarlet.Jacobi, Carl, Revelations in Black, 1965. Thank you!
It's definitely Revelations in Black I remembered
the title and even the author name once I saw it. I can't wait
to get the book. I remember it as a great story and I read and
reread it as a kid. Thanks again to the person who solved this!

Revenge of Annie CharlieRead this in 70's. Fiction,
not children's, & not "Rancher Takes a Wife". Set in the
Chilcotin/Williams Lake British Columbia, 1950-60s. Young
rancher is close with local Canadian Indian tribe. Beautiful
daughter of chief falls in love with him. Local Mountie causes big
problems.

Alan Fry, The
Revenge of Annie Charlie, 1973, copyright.
Solved - I don't know why (maybe posting it as a Stumper
inspired me), but I was finally able to word my google query
in such a way as to find the title of this book that I have
been searching for years. Thanks, everyone, for looking.

Reverend Randollph seriesIn college in the early 80s, a friend told me about a book, or
series of books, about a pastor who married a
secular/worldly/agnostic woman. I think he was then called to a
church in Manhattan.

Charles Merrill Smith, Reverend
Randollph and ..., 1970s. This was a mystery series, set in
Chicago.

Rhode
of Blair Rose HillIn the early 1950s, I owned a very old children's book called Rhodora
of Briar Rose Hill. The male protagonist, I believe, was a
smarmy young minister named Dinty (first name, I think.) I have no
idea of an author's name. It was, in retrospect, repulsively
racist and sexist. Any idea what it is? Thanks.

Rhode of Blair Rose Hill by
Belle Gray published in 1929.Thanks so much for this information. I didn't think I was
that much off, but I was a kid when I read it (lots of
times). I have ordered the book from the local library
--they are REALLY great about finding things for me. It
was kind of you to do this search. If this is the right
book, I'd want a copy--just to show the grandchildren how times
have changed!

Rich KidsThe two main characters were a boy
and a girl. I remember the girl actually stealing her mother's
copy of the Joy of Sex. The boy's father had a round bed with
mirrors. One night the girl ran away but had made mention of
Shangri-la in her journal. I swear it was a YA book, despite how
it sounds!
Updated: More details
about this book: I believe they went to a private school
together. She lived with her mother, the boy with his father.
I don't think the parents dated each other, but I could be
wrong. I seem to remember the book saying "now an ABC
Afterschool Special", but I have poured over those show
descriptions for YEARS and can't find anything that seems to
come remotely close. I can still picture in my mind where it
was located in my junior high library...I am pretty sure the
author's name is near the beginning of the alphabet (two of my
other favorite books that year were by Alice Bach/Mildred
Ames, and I know it was close to those).

Judith Ross/H.B. Gilmour, Rich Kids,1979. Rich Kids
(1979)was a movie starring Trini Alvarado. Screenplay by Judith Ross. Paperback by H.B. Gilmour.SOLVED: Judith Ross/H.B. Gilmour, Rich Kids, 1979. Wow - Thank
you to whomever solved this for me! I never in a million years
thought I would find the book.Richard Scarry's Best
Story Book EverMy sister and I remember having a large red
book about the seasons, or months of the year. For each
season (or month) it would have a story, poems, and possibly a
song. The illustrations remind us of Richard Scarry's
style with pictures everywhere and mostly animals -- especially
the bunny or mice illustrations. However, I have not had
any luck while searching his books. I remember it had the
poem 30 days hath Semptember in it and that there were many
stories/poems on each page. This would have been in the
mid to late 70's. Any idea???

I'm so excited to post my first answer!
It's Richard Scarry's Best Story Book Ever(82
Wonderful Round-The-Year Stories and poems) My copy is the
second printing,1969 Golden Press.S 61 And T 25: This is the same book,
Richard Scarry'sBest Story Book Ever.---I am looking for a children's book
probably published from 1967-1975. There are several stories
in the book. I think it might be a Richard Scarry book,
but I haven't found anything like it in the list of his
books. The first story in the book is about Tugboat Tom
and begins "Tugboat Tom was a sailor." There is also a
hippopotamus character either in this first story or in
another story in the book. My children loved this book and
memorized it word for word.

T25 might be Richard Scarry's Best
Stories Ever published by the Golden Press in
1971. It is 175 pages and includes stories on Tubgoat
Tom, The Fox and the Crow, Chicken Little, The Three Billy
Goats Gruff, etc.---I have been looking for a children's book
that we had in the mid seventies when our kids were little
tykes. The book was new then. We later gave
several of the children's books away to our siblings as their
children came along and regret losing this one and would like
to find a copy. We remember it as follows. It was large
(quattro?) size, brightly illustrated and had large
type. The story line was a bear family of three in the
far north as they fished and hunted moose. I remember
Pierre as being the father bear rather than the cub bear who
he took hunting and fishing but I could be mistaken. Lots of
recurring text like "for Pierre was a great hunter" or "for
Pierre was a great fisherman." They were also dressed
like French Canadians. My internet searching has yielded
the following. (1) Little Treasury of Pierre Bear
by Elizabeth Ivanovsky, Random House Value Publishing, Nov
1992, 5 or 6 volumes. This is obviously not it but may be a
good one to pursue if Ms. Ivanovsky is the author.(2) Pierre Bear's Day by
Elizabeth Ivanovsky. Out of print. No more info. I
am going from memory on this one and for some time thought
that it was the one until I ran across the one below by
Scarry...(3) Pierre Bear by Patricia
Scarry, 1954 I think this was a golden book, not sure. My wife
remembered the author as being Richard Scarry but then he is a
household word for children's books. Obviously, our copy would
have had to have been many editions later. If we could only
isolate the story line to either author, that would be a great
help. Thank you for your consideration.

It certainly sounds like Pierre Bear
to me, but I don't know of a large format for this Little Golden
Book.Richard Scarry,Pierre Bear, 1954.
I have this book, it was one of our favourites as children. It
has thelines "for Pierre was a great fisherman"
and "for Pierre was the bravest hunter of all the North."
My copy is a later printing, little Golden Book edition.Richard Scarry, Richard Scarry's Best
Storybook Ever.
1975, approximately. P78 is definitely Pierre Bear from
Richard Scarry's Best Storybook Ever. I
LOVED this story as a child. However, this story has been
removed from the current edition of this storybook. (At
the end of the story, Pierre and his young son kill a family of
seals to make fur coats. Not exactly politically correct.)---This was a collection of three stories. I think the first
might have been the country mouse and the city mouse, but am not
sure. The second was about a duck who couldn't/wouldn't
swim until he had to to save a friend. The third one was
about three bears--mother, father, son--who were getting ready
for winter--making their coats, etc, by actually cutting out
patterns. My mother always said it was byScarry, but I've searched all Scarrys long and hard and come up
empty. Any help would be appreciated.

I sent an e mail last week asking about a book with 3
stories-about a duck, a bear family and perhaps the country
mouse/city mouse. After reading through some solved
stumpers (I absolutely love your website!) I've now realized the
bear story might be "Pierre Bear"--apparently it was included in
the earlier editions of Richard Scarry's Best Storybook
Ever. I would love to get a copy of it (with the
duck story, if at all possible) and wonder if you might be able
to help. Thank you so much for the site--it is just great
and a lot of fun.

Richest Boy in the WorldAs a child in the early 1960s I remember reading book about a
boys' school, or reform school, in which there was a sort of
underground economy based on marbles -- both playing and
trading. This fascinated me because I was an avid marble
player myself. I don't recall much more about this book
other than that it was probably novel-length, and may have been
written in or taken place in the 19th century -- conditions, I
seem to remember, may have been pretty harsh for the boys.
It may have taken place in England, or perhaps New York or New
England. I'd love to find out what this book was.

Francis Kalnay, The Richest Boy in
the World,1962.

Richest Sparrow in the
WorldRufflehead is a small red Russian wren, who
finds some grain. But no one else--none of the other
animals--will help him either gather the grain, or cook it, or
store it. So when he finally winds up with a lot of grain--a box
car full, I remember--he is completely alone. Because he will
not share, he has no friends. Rufflehead learns the lesson of
sharing and once he shares his grain, he becomes the most
popular bird around. This story is much like the familiar
story of the Red Hen, who decides to gather grain and bake it
into a loaf of bread. When other animals ask her if they can
share the bread, she says no, since no one would help her when
she needed it. And she is the hero of this story. Rufflehead,
meanwhile, apparently coming from a different culture, gets the
opposite treatment until he realizes the wisdom of the
collective, so to speak. This book was given to me and my
sister by a cousin who owned a bookstore in Berkeley,
California, during the 1950s and 1960s. We spent our childhood
accusing one another of being "Ruffleheads,'' and so I believed
that to be the title of the book. I have consulted with numerous
web sites, folklore experts, children's book authors and experts
(including Jane Yolen and Alison Lurie) and all to no
avail. If anyone can help, I would be much obliged, as I
am now determined to prove to my husband that this book
did in fact exist, and to pass on this wisdom (or tradition) to
my three-year-old daughter.

What a lark. A group of feminists I used to work with who
call themselves Red Hen, could learn from this lesson too. This is only a suggestion, but based on what
you've said about the book's origin, I wonder if it could have
been, not an original Russian folktale (since you've explored
that avenue very thoroughly) but a -- I don't really know what
to call it -- a "concocted" book, of a type that was fairly
prevalent at the time you mention: a sort of propaganda, often
privately printed, I suppose to give "red diaper babies"
something to read while their parents were folding leaflets
:)! I only mention the possibility because it may give you
a different direction to explore in (and because I once saw a
similar "storybook" from the other side, telling all about
little Johnny's awful first day in school after "They" (the
communists) had taken over). Are there Socialist-oriented used
bookstores?Eduard Petiska, The Richest
Sparrow in the World, mid 1960s. This is definitely
the one, originally Czech. Unfortunately there are no
copies available anywhere on the net at the moment, so perhaps
try interlibrary loan...
--- I remember this book from around late 1970's early 80's, it was
a collection of stories with very vivid images. The stand out
story for me was called Dirty or Lazy Margaret, and was about a
filthy girl who didn't want to clean her house, so eventually
the house (a quaint thatched cottage) and everything in it
(plates, cutlery) washed her. I also remember a story about a
fox and a rabbit/hare having a chase on some ice. The book cover
was green I think, and maybe had a picture of a bird and a pile
of grains on it. The most memorable thing about this book were
the lovely pictures - and I'd love to share it with my children
now. I appreciate any help you can offer - thanks!

Just wanted to add some things I have also remembered: - I
think the bird on the cover may have eaten the corn and choked
or something, and the name "Corky" sounds relevant. This
is driving me slowly mad now!...

The Richest Sparrow in the World and
Other Stories. I think this must be the one.
The title story is about a sparrow named Rufflehead who gets
stuck in a train car filled with grain. A reviewer on Amazon
mentioned that another story in the book is Lazy
Margaret. There seem to be a couple of editions of The
Richest
Sparrow
in the World, but the collection of stories appears
to have been published in 1974.Whoo hoo! Thank you so very much - this
sounds like the right book, just have to find a copy now. I am
so happy, thank you for your help!Eduard Petiska and illustrated by Zdenek
Miler, The Richest Sparrow in the world and other stories,
1965. This is already in your solved list, I am so
grateful to find out what it is, but it seems to be a hard to
find book, so if anyone locates a copy I would be extremely
grateful to hear from you! Thanks so very much.
---Picture book from the 60's
illustrated in the bold style of Charley Harper. In a snowy
city, a little sparrow sees a boxcar full of seed and isn't
content to eat the spilled seed on the ground with the other
birds, but goes into the boxcar and gets locked in. Please help
me find this one! Thank you!

“The Richest Sparrow in the
World” is the name of the book I was looking for.
I only remembered that the sparrow wasn’t satisfied with eating
the spilled seed on the ground along with the other birds, and
when he saw the huge pile of seed inside the boxcar at the train
station, he went in to eat and was locked inside. My
brother is the one who remembered more about it and found it for
me on the web. He has an incredible memory and is three years
older than I am. I should have asked him first! The book
is by Czech author Eduard Petiska and illustrated by Zdenek
Miler and was published in English in 1963 by Golden Pleasure
Publishing, London. There were several stories (I think five) in
the book but I only remember the one about the sparrow. It was a
veiled communist tract but many western children enjoyed it
regardless for the cute characters and illustrations (including
author Kate Mosse). Speaking of illustrations, that is why
I was interested in this book to begin with. I would love to
know more about Zdenek Miler.

Rick BrantSeriesCaves of FearThis is a spy/adventure book I read when I was about 13, and
probably intended for kids of 12-16. I read it circa 1970 in
Philadelphia, but it was probably published between 1955 and
1970. Almost certainly it was American, not British.
The elements of the plot I remember are: 1. The main
characters receive a coded message of numbers, and have to decode
it by looking on the corresponding page and line of a reference
book, possibly an encyclopedia or the World Atlas. Part of
the plot was figuring out what book to look in. When
decoded, the message had the word "umbra", and a loose translation
ended "and beware long shadow". 2. Another element of
the plot involved heavy water (deuterium oxide), so there was
certainly some nuclear bomb aspect to it. This means it was
definitely published after 1945.

Blaine, John, Rick Brant Science Mysteries, 1940s - 1960s.
This sounds like a combination of a couple of the Rick Brant
series books. Sort of like a scientific Hardy Boys--Rick
is the son of a scientist who is working with a foundation on
Spindrift Island, his best friend Scotty is a former soldier who
was honorably discharged because he lied about his age. In
the first book, The Rocket's Shadow, they're
trying to build a rocket to reach the moon. In another,
later in the series, there's a code that's solved with the
assistance of a young Indian boy named Chaka who's memorized the
1920 World Almanac.L129 is solved! It is John Blaine, The Caves of Fear!
Thanks so much!---I was about 8 or 9 years old (circa 1964), and I remember this
book about a boy who straps, or invents a rocket packpack,
straps onto his back, and is able to travel around in the sky,
seeing his home, the farmland, the town he lives in. Thai
is all I can remember.

Lands of Pleasure,
1965. Just a possibility- there is a story in a school
reader, called Lands of Pleasure (published by
Macmillan in 1965), about a boy named Hap who straps on a helium
jetpack at a fair. The rope breaks, and he goes flying.John Blaine, Rocket Jumper, 1966. See picture(cover and inside
picture) online
here. Rick Brant, son of a famous scientist, makes a
dream of free flight come true when he fashions a rocket belt in
the famed Spindrift Scientific Laboratories. Experiments with
the belt are interrupted by summer jobs for Rick and his pal
Scotty at a top-secret military project in Nevada. The boys are
assigned to operate a missile tracking station, and to help
counterintelligence find the spies who are collecting
information about the missile project and selling it to Iron
Curtain countries. A ring of ruthless espionage agents, the
inferno of a raging forest fire, a dangerous and daring rocket
jump––with the lives of two girls at stake––all go to make this
a fast-moving, high-tension yarn of Rick Brant
action.

Riddle
at Live OaksThis was a treasure/mystery fiction about children visiting in
the South, who discovered clues to a hidden treasure from Civil
War days. The family treasure had been hidden to prevent
soldiers from stealing it, but the location had been lost and the
clues didn't make sense to family members. The treasure
turned out to be hidden in an old well that had been abandoned, X
number of brick layers down from the top, etc. The book had
verses of the song "Nobody knows the troubles I've seen" sung by a
old, black former family servant who was instrumental in shedding
light on some of the clues.

I remember this one! I'm pretty sure
it was published in "Jack and Jill." May have been
in serial form, probably in the mid to late '50's. It is
about a rather poor southern family who hides the silver service
for their wealthier neighbors during the Civil War. They
dug a hole in the basement floor to hide the silver and
scattered apples on top. When the soldiers came, they saw
the fresh earth and demanded to know what was there. The
mother said, "It is a lovely set of silver." The soldiers
saw the apples poking out, laughed and said, "No, thanks.
We'll take our apples from the barrel," that was standing
nearby. The silver was eventually dug up and reburied
under a young apple tree. Years later -- when the story
actually took place -- the black caretaker, "Old Ned," I think,
finally recalled that he never could figure out why that tree
never grew straight. His granddaughter was friends with
the children of the house and she was a central character in the
story. She was helping to nurse a sick piglet to
health---called it a "poor little lamb." I don't recall
the name of the story but maybe these details will help.Maybe Mystery at the Red House
by Cornelia Meigs, published Macmillan 1961 "Valuable
jewels
in
an old well and a deserted room decorated for a birthday party
provide an intriguing myster for a whole family." (Best
Books for Children 1965)Another possibility, though very scanty
information - The Secret of the Old House, by Margaret
Leighton, illustrated by Ruth King, published New York,
Winston 1941, 210 pages, cover shows old black man leaning on
cane, dark haired little girl and blond boy by white pillars of
house.Let's try this one - Sycamore Silver,
by Nancy Byrd Turner, illustrated by Victor J. Dowling,
published Dodd, Mead 1943, 330 pages "Mystery story for
grades 4 to 6. Describes happy summer vacation on a Virginia
plantation some fifty years ago (ie 1890s) where the small
heroine and two companions, as well as several colored
children, search for lost family silver." (Book Review
Digest 1943 p.819) This sounds like the first suggested answer
for the book, rather than the book itself, though ....don't have much information, but perhaps Mr.
Alexander and the Witch, by Emmy West and Christine
Govan, illustrated by Leonard Shortall, published
New York, Viking 1969. "A mischievous pet squirrel monkey helps
two youngsters solve a mystery as old as the Civil War. Ages
9-12." (HB Dec/69 p.732 pub ad) The cover pic shows the monkey
sitting on what looks like a board-covered stone well, while 5
children look at him from the bushes. More on a previous
suggestion - Mystery at the Red House by Cornelia
Meigs, illustrated by Robert MacLean, published
Macmillan 1961, 160 pages. "In a reversal of the usual order
this story begins with the finding of a treasure of rare jewels.
How the jewels happened to be in the old well where
eleven-year-old Nina found them and what they had to do with the
sudden disappearance of a family that everyone in the little New
England village respected and loved were mysteries that too many
weeks to solve."(HB Oct/61 p.441) Which makes it less likely
to be the book wanted.C45 civil war treasure: yet another - Fortune
Hill, by Cora Cheney, illustrated by Jerome
Weisman, published Holt 1956, 123 pages. "A secret house and
a strange man add suspense as two sisters hunt for the family
fortune buried during the Civil War. Ages 7-10." (HB
Feb/56 p.74 pub ad)C45 civil war mystery: there's no old black
servant, but the Meg mystery The Secret of the Witch's
Stairway, by Holly Beth Walker, has some
similarities. The children searching are Meg and her friend
Kerry and Glenn Morgan who are staying with the old Ashley
sisters to help while one recovers from a fall. The family
silver was hidden during the Civil War to save it from looting
soldiers, and the young daughter of the house disappeared. Glenn
is her long-lost grandson and has clues to the treasure. Other
clues are found in the dolls the girl once owned and in
secret drawer. The clue 'seven up and seven down' leads them
first to bricks in the chimney left standing after the
plantation house was burnt, then to the steps of an old
staircase and the cool cellar.C45 civil war treasure: maybe, Secret
of the Closed Gate by Margaret Leighton,
illustrated by Sandra James, published Winston c1944, hardcover
with B&W illustrations. "Children's mystery - Nancy and
friends find asecret room in an old cellar of a burnt
house. They get old Caesar to tell them stories of the house."
I would assume that old Caesar is a black servant or former
slave? This is the second Leighton title suggested here, I
notice, so if neither of them is right, maybe other works by her
are worth a look?Kathryn Kenny, Trixie Belden Series. Maybe our stumper helpers are all on the wrong
track and this is actually a Trixie Belden or other family
mystery book. Often the children in various series go to the
south and find treasure. I think that Trixie did when they went
to the Missippi River.Another possibility--The Riddle at
Live Oaks by Augusta Huiell Seaman,
1934. There are three children who are looking for family
silver hidden during the civil war. They do find it in an
old well and there is an old slave who does sing "Nobody Knows
the Trouble I've Seen".

Riddle of Castle HillPublished before
1980. Two children find a tombstone and think its a
person. Later find out its a racehorse.
Setting near the ocean...find out what mussels and cockles
are. Something about a mirror and a ribbon hidden behind
it. Wish I had more to go on.

Robert E. Barry, The
Riddle of Castle Hill. It's THE RIDDLE OF CASTLE HILL by Robert E.
Barry~from a librarianSOLVED: The Riddle of Castle Hill

Ride a
Wild HorseI am looking for a book I read in the
mid-seventies. The author's name would be in the second half of
the alphabet, the cover might have been bright yellow (though
I'm not entirely sure) and I think the title had the word "star"
in it. The details that I can remember: it's about a family with
an aunt, an uncle, a girl cousin, and a boy cousin who live with
an extraordinary number of animals. Somehow (I don't remember
the details) it turns into a science fiction story, and there's
something about the girl being part alien or able to communicate
with aliens or something of that nature. I'd really love to find
this book -- I've been wanting to re-read it for twenty years!

Alexander Key, ??? Alexander
Key wrote a lot of children's books, often with telepathic
children growing up with aunts and uncles, frequently with
animals. I'd need more details on this one, but I can
easily imagine that it's one of his.No, this isn't Alexander Key -- I know
his books quite well (and don't forget it's the second half of
the alphabet). I have the feeling this is somebody
really obscure, because I'm usually the one solving these
things!:)Robert A. Heinlein, The Rolling
Stones, 1950s.
There is a rather large family with a lot of little animals
similar to tribbles called flatcats.Not an Andre Norton story is it??
She has a lot of Star titles. Star Born, Wheel ofStars, Stars Are Ours, Exiles of the
Stars, Star Ka'at World, Unchartered Stars. Just a
suggestion. (Her stories are all older.)Madeleine l'Engle, Many Waters. Or one of her other books e.g. A
Swiftly Tilting Planet, etc. I can't think of any
*one* book that fits *all* the details, but the combination of
family life, science fiction, and animal communication is quite
characteristic of l'Engle's books.No, it's nobody well-known, I'm
absolutely sure of it -- I'm very well read inYA fiction, and I'm also good at tracking
down obscure books. This is something waaaay off the
beaten track. (Plus, not only is the author in the
second half of the alphabet, but I'd be reasonably certain
they were at least as far down as "R", but I'm not entirely
certain).Louise Lawrence. Another
possibility writes children's books that sometimes interweave
mythology, science fiction and animals. At least two of her
books do have 'star' in the title: Star Lord, and
The Power of Stars.Henry Winterfield, Star Girl. Yet another possibility. I don't have clear
memories of it but know that it did include a girl who was alien
or part alien. At least it meets the criterion of the author
being near the end of the alphabet!No, this book isn't by Heinlein or Key or anyone well-known
(and the author is in the second half of the alphabet). It
takes place in the present-day (ie. 1970's, I think) U.S.A., no
starships, etc. The animals are normal earth animals,
there are just a lot of them. This is a real puzzler -- if
it were obvious, I would have had it a long time ago.Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, Ride a Wild
Horse, 1970. This
is set on a ranch with lots of horses, etc. The family who lives
there takes in a girl, Julie, who they think has amnesia. And if
I remember correctly, they think she's a cousin. She's actually
from another planet. She reveals her powers to the 12-year-old
boy in the family, Barney, and shows him how she can make one of
the horses, Diablo, fly. She uses the horse to get back to
wherever she came from.

Ride to Animal Townthe book I’m looking for contains the phrase “tired old bunny
feet, glad to ride”. It’s a children’s story about a bunny
at the side of a road who’s given a ride by a Good Samaritan with
a two-wheeled cart. The bunny complains throughout the ride
but finally does say “tired old bunny feet, glad to ride”. This is
the first time I’ve used your site and apologize for creating a
problem. Could you please send me the information I need to
find my answers? Thank you.

This isn't much help, and I can't find the
book, but this was one of the stories in Elson-Gray Basic
Readers, Book 3--the 1936 edition, I believe. If you
can find a copy, it might give a credit up front for the
story. If I ever find my own copy, I'll post any info
that's in it.Miriam Clark Potter, A Ride to Animal
Town. After
another poster identified this as a story in a reader I looked
through some of mine and found A Ride to Animal Town
by Miriam Clark Potter in Streets and Roads
a Scott, Foresman and Co. publication from 1946-47. It may
be contained in several different readers but this is definitely
the story you are looking for. Billy Beaver is driving a
cart pulled by Johnny Fox. They meet up with a tired old
bunny and give him a ride. He keeps complaining so they
finally make him get out but he asks for a second chance and
later says "Hot sun, bumpy road, tired old bunny feet.
Glad to ride."Googled it! Here's the website
that has a sample pdf file containing the story, or try this.

Ring of
Bright WaterI have been searching for years for a book
that I read as a child. Unfortunately, I only remember vague
things, such as: it is about a family of beavers
and I believe had something about Shining
Pond in either the story or the
title. So far, I've had absolutely no luck. I would
appreciate anything you could tell me.

B4 Is not beavers but otters. It is either
Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell
(there's the "shining" part) or it is the shortened version for
children entitled The Otter's Tale by Gavin
Maxwell.B4 could be Tarka the Otter
although I've forgotton the author.

In further research, this does seem to match. And I currently
have these books by Gavin Maxwell available, as well as two
photographs of Maxwell himself with birds: Maxwell, Gavin. Ring of Bright Water, VG/G+, 4th
<SOLD>... Raven Seek Thy Brother, VG/VG, 1st am, x-l, $10... The House of Elrig, F/VG, 1st, $22... A Reed Shaken by the Wind, VG/VG, 2nd, $25... The Otters' Tale, VG/VG-, 1st, $252 photographs of Gavin Maxwell, $10

Rip
Darcy, AdventurerI read this in school, so it was either in
the school library, or one of the old books kept in the back of
the classroom in the tiny rural school I went to in BC for
grades 3-4 and 6. (that'd be approx. 1966-9). I remember it as
being old when I read it, perhaps late 40s to early-mid 50s. It
was a chapter book, perhaps a little oversize, and illustrated
with line and wash illos in b/w, perhaps occasional colour. The
style was similar to Holling Clancy Hollings, who did
Paddle-to-the-Sea, Seabird, and Minn of the Mississippi. It's
not him, though, as far as I can discover. The story began with
several scientist types on a ship, a scientific expedition of
some kind. They discover a derelict ship, but on it is a young
boy (9-14 years) and his dog, a fox terrier or Jack Russell. The
boy may have had blond curly hair. He is either the only
survivor, a stowaway, or was left behind for his safety when the
rest of the crew made a chancy escape attempt. It seems to me
that his father had been on the ship originally, because I
remember being a bit confused that he wasn't more distressed
about losing his father. So the scientists take him and the dog
along on their explorations, and the rest of the book is pretty
much a social studies text as they visit different islands and
ports of call. In fact, it may have been a social studies text,
though I don't remember it as such.

O'Brien, Jack, Rip Darcy,
Adventurer,illustrated
by Bunty Witten. Toronto, Winston, 1938. Okay, this
is it. Rip Darcy and his terrier Junie are found in a wrecked
ship on a small Pacific island. His father, Captain Darcy of the
trading ship South Wind, and all the crew, were swept overboard
in a storm. He is found by Captain Gus Brown, and taken to New
York, where he is "adopted" by the Adventurers' Club, and taken
under the wing of several of them in turn, to have various
adventures (some life-threatening - where are the Child Welfare
authorities!). The Adventurers' Club is real, and so are the men
with whom Rip has adventures in various countries - Frank Buck,
Bob Ripley, Sacha Siemel, and Gus Brown.

Rise
and Fall of a Teen-age WackoI am looking for a young adult novel I read around 1985 or 86. It
features a teenager who lives in or near New York City, and her
parents go off on vacation while she stays behind. She's obsessed
with the Gene Tierney film, "Laura," and she is also obsessed with
Woody Allen. In the book, she finds out Woody is going to be at a
restaurant or club and goes to see him there. The back cover had a
lovely line drawing/illustration in black and white of a girl
sitting down with a big floppy hat and flowing dress on and I
think she had her elbow on her knee and chin in her hand. This is
all I remember.

G71 THE RISE AND FALL OF A TEEN-AGE
WACKO by Mary Anderson, 1980. Laura is
spending a lot of time alone in NYC. She fantasizes that she is
in a Woody Allen film, and finds that she has walked across the
camera of the real Woody. He offers to keep her in the movie,
but she later finds out her "scene" has been cut. ~from a
librarianHi I originally posted the stumper
question and the answer on your site is absolutely correct!
Thank you to the librarian (as she is listed) who answered
this stumper -- it's been on my mind for years now! Thank you
so much!---Rise and Fall of a
Teenage WackoThis book was about a family with a teen daughter (I think her
name was Laura-because she identified with the old movie
"Laura". They went away for the summer, but she wanted to
stay back in New York City by herself. She babysat, went to
auctions. I just can't remember the name of the book.
Please help!

Rise and Fall of a Teenage Wacko.
This one's already on the solutions page--I remembered that the
girl thought she wasgoing to be
in a Woody Allen movie, so I searched for that on the site and
came up with the answer.
---I am trying to recall a
book from my middle school years-teen yrs. I took it out of the
library time and time again, but can’t recall much about it.
This is what I do recall……..a teenage girl lives in NYC, I
*think* her parents went to the country for the week and she is
to meet them soon. This girl dreams of being a famous actress.
At some point in her weekend she visits Saks, or Bloomingdales
and purchases a large floppy hat that she can’t resist. She
feels it makes her look mysterious. She also walks onto a movie
shoot and tries to get in the movie. I believe toward the end of
the book she visits her family and spends time at a swimming
hole. I was a young teen in the early-mid 80s, this book was
most likely from the late 70s. Thank you.

Anderson, Mary, The Rise
And Fall Of A Teenage Wacko, 1982. This is it, it's in the solved
stumpers. I knew exactly what book you were talking about,
and I couldn't remember the name either - but I managed to
remembered a few more details (specifically, the Woody Allen
references) that enabled me to find it in solved
stumpers. Glad you reminded me of this book - it was a
favorite of mine.Mary
Anderson, The Rise and Fall
of a Teenage Wacko.I can't believe it. I am
overcome with happiness that someone responded to my stump! It
is The Rise and Fall of a
Teenage Wacko and now I recall that Woody Allen part
of it. I loved Woody Allen which is probably why i loved the
book. I really read this over and over. many many thanks.

Risk n'
Rosesbook about a girl who moves to a new town
and has to take care of her retarded sister over the summer.
there is a mean old man who lost his wife and is her neighbor
that has a beautiful rose garden. she makes friends with some
girls and form a club in an old abandoned house.

Slepian Jan, Risk n' roses, 1990. In 1948, newly-moved to the Bronx,
eleven-year-old Skip longs to shed her responsibility for her
mentally handicapped older sister and give her whole attention
to her new friendship with the bold and daring girl who sems to
run the neighborhood. mr Kaminsky is the neighbour who
befriends older sister Angela. The gang is the "dare club"
where Jean who dominates the neighbourhood, dares each
girl to do more and more naughty things ( like shoplifting) and
ultimately Jean dares Skip to cut the heads off the roses that
Mr Kaminsky grows.Risk N Roses That' it! Move
this to the Solved page. Thanks!!!!

RiverHi, I just found your page by accident, but
it could prove to be just what I have been looking for. Is this
the way to play Stump the Bookseller, for I would like to enter
that realm. Here is the book: keywords could be mynah
bird, Raj, India, python. I do not know the author
or title or year it was published! But if you ever read it you
will recognize it instantly since it has a wonderful atmosphere
that captures the feel of India and family life there, and with a strong sense
of place. It is a children's book that was written before 1950,
possibly published originally in India. It was not by Kipling.
Both my older brother Charles, b. 1942, and I (born 1947) read
it in about 5th grade in California. It was very popular at the
time. The book is about a family that lived in India and
travelled around a bit there. They adopted a mynah bird, which
my brother recalls was named Raj. Raj stayed with them for a
while, and there was an incident with a python. Either the snake
consumed Raj, or he survived and had to be released. There is a
strong sense of loss at the end, I think. I would really like to
obtain a copy of this book, and would be amazed and deeply
gratified if you were to find it! Actually I would buy several
copies, one for each of my brothers, if they were not too
expensive, say four copies.

I1 This is a longshot: could it be The
River by Rumer Godden? I never
read the book, but the 1951 movie version was about a British
family living in Bengal, India. I saw the movie more than
20 years ago and don't remember very much about it.It could be, I will check into it. When Rumer died a year or so
ago I read about her in the NYT, and got excited for a while.
Her whole approach--children's books, India, great style--seemed
like it could fit, but nothing quite matched.

The River of Time
Read it in 1994. It was a hard cover collection of mythological
short stories. Author(s) copyright unknown. I remember 2
stories.1)Loki was helps humans invade,
like Dday, against another Norse god.2)Climber in Greece finds a
temple with the Fates and tapestry of history.3)Others I forget

David Brin,
The River of Time. The Loki story is called
"Thor Meets Captain America" and the one with the Fates is
called "The Loom of Thessaly." Both are in the collection The
River of Time, a collection of stories by David Brin, and both
are also available to read for free on his website.David Brin,
The River of Time. The first story sounds like "The
Loom of Thessaly" by David Brin. It appears in his collection
"The River of Time" along with "Thor Meets Captain America",
which features Loki in WW2.David
Brin, The River of Time. The second story sounds like
"The Loom of Thessaly" by David Brin. It appears in his
collection "The River of Time" along with "Thor Meets Captain
America", which features Loki in WW2.David
Brin, The River of Time. The stories you describe are
"Thor Meets Captain America" and "The Loom of Thessaly".David
Brin, The River of Time, 1986, copyright. This is
probably the book, an anthology of Brins shorter stories.
Thor vs. Captain America is definitely the story about the Norse
gods and an invasion. Loki helps the Allies in World War
II while the other Norse gods support the Nazis. Thor vs Captain
America was also published in Hitler Victorious, an alternate
history anthology published in the 1980s. The other story
mentioned is probably The Loom of Thessaly, which is also in The
River of Time.
David Brin, The River of Time.
I was cleaning out my inbox, and I saw that I had submitted a
stumper to you, and I finally went and checked it tonight a year
and a half after I submitted it. I have to say, you are correct
that that is the anthology of which I spoke, and I am so happy
that someone knew what it was. Thank you very much.

Road from HomeI'm looking for a book about a young
Armenian girl that is forced from her home by the Turks (I
think) and finally gets to America. It is a true story and
captured my interest because my mom used to say if I'd been
soaked in the rain or something "you look like a starving
Armenian". I think the book takes place in the 1930ties.

David Kherdian, The road from home : the story of an Armenian girl, 1979.
A biography of the author's mother concentrating on her
childhood in Turkey before the Turkish government deported its
Armenian population. Born to a prosperous Armenian family,
Verna Dumehjian spent a happy childhood until 1915, when the
Turkish government deported her family. She faced many tragedies
the following years, but eventually arrived in the United States
as a mail order bride in 1924.Have you tried The Road from Home:
The Story of an Armenian Girl by David Kherdian?
It's described on Amazon as a biography of the author's mother
concentrating on her childhood in Turkey before the Turkish
government deported its Armenian population and is set in the
late teens/early twenties.

Road in
StorylandThe book I am looking for is an anthology I read as a young child
in the mid 1950's. Quite possibly it was originally purchased for
one of my older cousins in the 1940's. While I don't remember the
author or title, I have a vivid recollection that one of the first
stories in the collection was a folktale about a woman dressed in a red apron who sets a pie to
cool on a window sill, which attracts a beggar who asks her for
a piece. When she offers the beggar a tiny peck of the
pie she is tranformed into a woodpecker (or some other bird) for
her unkindness. I believe the book was illustrated in the style of
the Giant Golden Books published in the 40's, but it may not have
been a Giant Golden Book. I would be extremely appreciative if you
could find the book for me or have any information about it.

In response to the book in P-8, you might
want to try either Hans Christian Andersen or Grimms'
Fairy Tales. The beggar in the story was a magical being in
disguise and his asking for food was a test for the old woman
(sheobviously failed). I don't know the name of
the story but I remember my father telling it to me and it
sounds like it could be from either of those two authors.P8: This isn't the same exact story, but I
just wanted to say that I know 3 versions of this - A
Legend ofthe Northland (a 19th-century
poem by Phoebe Cary, it includes Saint Peter); a Native American
version (both stories include pancakes and a woodpecker); and "Baker's
Daughter"inClever Gretchen, where the beggar
is a fairy, the food is bread, and the selfish girl becomes an
owl. (This is the source of some of Ophelia's lines in Hamlet.)
There are also versions where the beggar is Christ.I regularly check the book stumpers and
had seen the replies. Based on follow-up research I
don't think book is a Hans Christian Andersen or Grimm's Fairy
Tale anthology, since the story doesn't turn up in any
"complete" editions of their stories. I was pleased to
read the Phoebe Cary poem, whichturns up in Bennett's Book of Virtues
that was a best seller a few years ago, and the references to
similar stories in annotated editions of Shakespeare, but of
course that's not the childhood book itself. However,
the fact that this folk tale was at one time well known gives
me hope that I will find theparticular book someday. Of course
I'd be interested in purchasing it from you if you were able
to find it. I am very appreciative of the information
and efforts of you and your friends from cyberspace.**Watty Piper, The Road in Storyland,
1932. I am the person who submitted this book
stumper. I am writing to let you know that I finally
found the book and to thank you for having kept it posted so
long. It's The Road in Storyland, edited by
Watty Piper. The story that stuck in my mind all these
years was the Old Woman who Wanted All the Cakes, one
of the 20 stories in the collection.

Road to
Raffydiddle1970's. on the road to Rafididdle sat
an old man with his fiddle-- the opening lines were something
like that. The book was about a strange fiddler- told in
rhyme.

Merryman, Mildred Plew, The Road to
Raffydiddle.
Abingdon, 1966 / World's Work, 1967. Illus. by Frank
Aloise. The author died in 1944, so there could be earlier
versions, too. I also found a reference that said the poem
could be found in The Big Golden Book of Poetry, edited by Jane
Werner, illustrated by Gertrude Elliott, Golden Press, 1947,
1949F162 Google says it is Raffydiddle.
That led me to an ebay thing which I didn't understand -
supposedly a rare item, now gone?Merryman, Mildred, The Road to Raffydiddle, 1966.
Thank you for solving the mystery-- I'm very happy to have the
title and author. Hope you can find a copy for me to buy.

Robber's DaughterYouth fantasy/historical novel. I
read it ~'86-88, and had the impression it was new, but it may
not have been. About a lonely girl whose father is leader of a
band of thieves who live in a hideout in a forest (she has no
mother). The girl is unhappy, and spends most of her time alone
in the forest. Lindgren, Astrid, Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, 1983. Possibly the Astrid
Lindgren story - Ronia is the daughter of the robber chief
Mattis and they live in the forest. There are at least two
different translations of this title, and in the UK published
version (called The Robber's Daughter) several of the name's
have been changed, including Ronja/Ronia's - changed to Kirsty!Astrid
Lindgren, Ronia, The Robber's
Daughter,
1981. Ronia, the only child among her father's band of thieves,
spends most of her time alone in the forest, where she makes
friends with the only child from a rival band. After causing
trouble within both groups, their friendship eventually brings
peace between the rivals. She does have a mother, but she is
much more of a background character than the father. This is by
the author of Pippi Longstocking, and the english translation
was published ~1983.Astrid
Lindgren, Ronia the Robber's
Daughter.Astrid
Lindgren, Ronia the Robber's
Daughter.
Ronia lives with her parents and a band of robbers in the
forest. Her father is the leader of the band. There
is a rival band that they continually fight against, the rival
band ends up living across the ravine that runs through the
middle of their house. She becomes secret friends with the
son of the rival leader.Astrid
Lindgren, Ronia, The Robber's
Daughter.
Pretty sure this is the one you're looking for!Astrid
Lindgren, Ronia, the Robber's
Daughter.
Sounds like Ronia, the Robber's DaughterSOLVED: I just (re-)read The Robber's Daughter (must
have been the UK translation since the girl's name was Kirsty),
and while its not exactly as I remembered it, I'm sure its the
book I was thinking of. Funny how we remember certain things but
forget others... Thank you everyone who responded. :)

Robbie
booksHello! I've just found your Stump the Bookseller page and thought
I would give it a try, although I'm afraid my wants are very
obscure. I'm after some books that my mother and grandmother had
as children, which have since been lost. All I can remember about
one of them is that it featured someone with a "stretcher arm" with which he could grab
things in other rooms without moving. I think it was published in
the 50's and was in the same series and of the same appearance as
Robbie's Trip to Fairyland by
J Elder and P Johnson which is a
largish book with colour picture boards and colour illustrations
throughout.

I don't have the answer, but I have found
out a bit more about the (possible) series: the other "Robbie"
book is Robbie's Birthday Wish ('50); both are
from Murfett (Melbourne). Murfett's other big children's series,
Peg Maltby, Pip & Pepita (mice), doesn't seem
likely for the stretcher arm. There is a book about the gnome
who mends fairies' shoes, Meet Mr Cobbledick!
('48), that might include the arm...does any of this sound
familiar?Jean Elder also illustrated Sylvia
Chew,Little Chiu (A Series of
Stories) (Murfett, '47), but this sounds even less likely.I am looking for the hard cover children's
book Robbie's Trip to Fairyland by JP Elder
and P Johnson. I saw it mentioned on your site and
that it was published by Murfett Melbourne. I was really
excited because I thought that reference to it would be harder
to find!! The book had been given to my mum when she was a
little girl and unfortunately my brothers and I weren't so
careful with it when we were young. She still has the
book, but it has many missing pages and many pages torn in
half. I always feel terrible that my brothers and I
wrecked it, because it was such a beautiful book. I would
love to find another copy for her. I guess it would kind
of be a trip down memory lane for her.Hi -- your book stumper pages are a
wonderful thing, and I have so much enjoyed going through
them. Under "solved stumpers", listed as "Robbie Books"
under QR, you have someone looking for a character with a long
reach. It was''t entirely clear that the problem was
solved with the list of Robbie books, so I thought I might
mention another book with a "stretcher arm" -- Frank L.
Baum's Queen Xixi of Ix, in which a character gets
just such an arm.

Robert the Rose Horseit's a children's book about a race horse that was allergic to
the flowers that were put around his neck after each race he
won and he would sneeze and sneeze. I thing the name of it
was Robert the Racehorse. It's probably about 25 yrs
old. I do not know the author. Thanks

Heilbroner, Joan. Robert the Rose Horse. Illustrated
by
P.D.
Eastman. Random House Beginner Book, 1962. Heilbroner, Joan, Robert the Rose
Horse, 1989. When
the horse sneezed, everyone had to hold onto their hats!

RobinA book about 2 families who live across
the street from each other with new babies, one girl and
one boy. All the illustrations were sillouettes. The stories
followed them as they grew up and ended with their starting
school.

Both Margaret Baker and Marchette
Chute did stories with silhouette illustrations, but I
haven't managed to confirm this story for either of them.F7 families across street: don't know much
about the story, but there's Robin, by Bertha
and Ernest Cobb, published Arlo, 1934, 225 pages. Red
cloth with black titles and silhouettes, decorated endpapers,
illustrated with silhouettes by Lucy Doane and K.W. Berry. The
cover shows a boy and girl in profile in ovals, like silhouette
portraits. The endpapers show two girls lifting up a smaller
child and a boy swinging. It seems to be stories about Robin, a
little boy, and girls called Amy and Joy?

Robin
and the PiratesThis is a book about a young boy who leaves his seaport town to
travel with pirates. The book is
filled with very detailed colorful cartoony pictures of pirates
and ships and guys with peg-legs. There weren't a lot of words in
the book but it wasn't really for preschool kids either. The book
was fairly large (but not thick) and would probably have been in
the oversize section of the library. For some reason I can
remember the cover as being yellow but I could be wrong about
that.

Could the book being looked for under
number P23 be one of the Tim books by Edward
Ardizonne (spelling?)? Tim was always running away to sea
(his parents were most understanding) and he had numerous
adventures in various books, including run-ins with pirates.P23 Pirates -- from The Horn Book,
Sept-Oct/43, an ad for The Pirate's Apprentice
written and illustrated by Peter Wells, published by
John Winston. "The author of "Mr. Tootwhistle's Invention"
with a new picture-story of a boy who wanted to be a pirate.
Ages 6-10." The drawing shown is quite cartoony, showing a
boy with a striped stocking-cap, a turned-up nose and a shirt
with a black skull-and-crossbones on it. Not enough plot
description to be helpful, though.Could this be Tenggren's Pirates,
Ships, and Sailors, or another illustrated by him
called Pirate's Loot?There's also Tom Benn and Blackbeard
the Pirate by Le Grand, published Abingdon
1954, 63 pages "Eleven-year-old Tom had always longed for
the life of a pirate, and one day he finds himself aboard
Blackbeard's pirate ship. Blackbeard teaches him a thing or
two about pirates, and how Tom becomesinvolved in the capture of this fierce
and terrible man ..." "Lieutenant Maynard would never have
caught Blackbeard if it had not been for Tom Benn and a big
wooden bathtub. This new regional tall tale has the authro's
usual high-handed nonsense in text and drawings."Another one - The End of Long John
Silver, by David William Moore, illustrated
by Henry Pitz, published Crowell 1946. "A rip-roaring story
which tells of the adventures of two young Rhode Island cabin
boys who met Treasure Island's Long John in Vera Cruz, sailed
with him to Paris and finally fought with him on the Bonhomme
Richard. A new slant on the American Revolution. For 9 to 12
year-olds." (Horn Book Nov/46 p.418 pub.ad) It's two
boys, though, not one, so may not be right.P23 pirates: here's another possible - Pirate
Brig, by Mildred Wirt, published Scribner
1950. "An exciting adventure novel about Blackbeard the
pirate and his cabin boy Ben. Older boys and girls." (HB
May/50 p.242 pub ad) Nothing about the illustrations, though. A
pirate book that definitely has cartoonish illustrations is Captain
Pugwash, a Pirate Story, written and illustrated by
John Ryan, published Criterion 1958. "A jolly spoof
on piracy in a picture-story book. The two-color and
four-color caricaturish drawings of pirate crews suit the
tall-tale spirit of the text. Together they picture the clever
way in which the modest cabin-boy Tom saves the life of his
vain pirate leader, Captain Pugwash, after an encounter with
the rival captain, Cut-Throat Jake, whose 'heart was blacker
than his beard.'" (HB Feb/58 p.32)Richard Platt, Pirate Diary. The journal of Jake Carpenter. This is an
oversized 64 page book that has very beautiful and detailed
illustrations by Chris Riddell. The book is about a 9 year old
boy, Jake, who keeps a diary for a year about his adventures on
a pirate ship. It's not a pre-school book, it's probably aimed
at 9-10 year olds. One very memorable full page illustration
within the book is almost completely yellow, it's of a page with
two pirates.P23 pirates: this one looks good - Robin
and
the Pirates, translated by Isobel Quigley
from a story by Ermanno Libenzi, illustrated by Adelchi Galloni,
published London, Hamlyn, 1974, unpaginated, about 56 pages. It
is a large/oversize book, being 10x12", but not thick. It has
very detailed and colourful cartoony illustrations that cover
the the pages and are often from odd perspectives. Piratical
types with peglegs, hooks and eyepatches are featured. The text
part of the page is relatively small, but the reading level is
at least the level of a Jolly Roger Bradfield book. The story is
about young Robin, who lives in an old lighthouse with his
grandfather Tobias. He is captured by a pressgang along with the
other men of his village and forced to join the navy. He escapes
onto a ghost ship, saves Moby Dick from Captain Ahab, lands on a
pirate island and meets Captain Hook, who takes him along on an
attack on a Spanish treasure ship. They are wrecked by a
hurricane and live in a huge tree in the Bahamas with Robinson
Crusoe, until rescued by Captain Nemo. And so on. Except for the
cover being mostly blue, this is a pretty good match physically.

Rocket
in my Pocketscholastic books was the publisher, 1957 to 1959. This is a
poem that was in a book of children's poetry that my third grade
teacher gave all of her students. I think that the book and
the poem had the same title. The poem is about all the
things that a little boy has in his pockets. It is written
in the voice of the boy and the words are spelled like a little
boy would talk. I would love to have a copy of the
poem and I would be willing to purchase a copy of the whole book
it a copy can be found.

This must be A Rocket In My Pocket: The Rhymes &
Chants of Young Americans (edited by Carl
Withers and illustrated by Sussanne Suba). The first
edition was published by Henry Holt in 1948, but it was
subsequently published in shortened form titled Favorite
Rhymes from A Rocket in My Pocket by Scholastic in
1967 and 1990.
--- The only thing I remember about this book is a non-sensical
poem, some of which goes: Ladles and Jellyspoons, I come
before you to stand behind you to tell you something I know
nothing about. Next Thursday, which is Good Friday, there will
be a Mother's meeting for Fathers only. If you can
come please stay at home. I checked with an English
professor and he said it doesn't seem like Ogden Nash, whom I
had always thought it was. But I searched Nash with no
luck.

Carl Withers, A Rocket in My Pocket :the rhymes and chants of young
Americans. 1948, 1988. Check this one to see
if it's the one you remember. I found a web source citing
this book as having this poem but I can't verify it myself.You can find that 'poem' in A Rocket
In My Pocket the rhymes and shants of young
Americans (compiled by Carl Withers, illus. by Susanne
Suba, Holt, 1948). It's got a dark cover and I think the
title is written in rope-like script. It's filled with
humorous verses and sayings.Typing 'ladles and jellyspoons' into a
search engine yielded results. Here are two good links. OneTwo.Oh, my goodness! That poem my friend
and I memorized in junior high! We found it in The
Nonsense Book.

Rocket
for a CowA cow wants to go to the moon, and with the
help of other animals, tries to build her own rocket. In
the end, she discovers that the love of her friends is much more
important.

Chris Babcock, No moon, no milk, 1994.Devine, Louise Lawrence, A Rocket for
a Cow, illustrated by
Irma Wilde, Rand McNally Elf 1965. Could be this one.
Cover shows a cow sitting on farm machinery tied together to
make a rocket. Plot description - A "fat old cow" yearns to jump
over the moon.#C126 A Rocket for a Cow is the correct answer. I
would like to ask the poster if they know whether or not this is
a Little Golden Book, or an Elf Book?
I agree with the blue poster that this is an Elf book.

Rocking Horse WinnerThis is a short story I read in a high
school textbook in the early 80's. A young (ill?) boy discovers
he can ride his rocking horse and money appears. At first it
helps his poor family make ends meet but quickly the family's
demands become greater- I remember the "need" to have fresh
flowers daily. He must ride more and more to meet the demands
while he grows more and more tired until finally I believe it
kills him. Any ideas? And I just wanted to say THANK YOU! By
reading all of the solved cases I shortened my queries from 12
to 6. I had NO idea I had this many questions about beloved
stories from my childhood hiding out in my mind.

Lawrence, D.H., Rocking-Horse Winner. A sad short story by D.H. Lawrence. It
can be found on-line or in a number of short-story anthologies.D.H. Lawrence, The Rocking Horse
Winner.
Short story by D.H. Lawrence, online here:
http://www.dowse.com/fiction/Lawrence.html . Also made
into a film.Lawrence, D.H., The Rocking-Horse
Winner. This certainly
sounds like Lawrence's short story. You can read it online
here.D H Lawrence, The Rocking Horse
Winnner, 1926(?).
This is definitely it. It's in lots of collections, easy
to find.Lawrence, The Rocking Horse
Winner.
read it online
here.D.H. Lawerence, The Rocking Horse
Winner. I believe this
is what you are looking for. I think it is often included
in high school literature books. When the little boy rides
his rocking horse he somehow finds out the names of the horses
who will win at the races. He tells his uncle the names and the
uncle bets on the horses. Among other things the family
buys fresh flowers in winter. Finally the boy dies of a
"brain fever" from all the riding, etc.D. H. Lawrence, The Rocking Horse
Winner. Could this be
it?: In London, the teenager Paul Grahame ( lives with his upper
class but financially broken family. His wasteful mother Hester
Grahame is a compulsive buyer, spending all the family money in
new expensive dresses, jewels and objects for their home. His
father Richard Grahame is a gambler, losing money in the horse
races. His uncle Oscar Cresswell is permanently covering the
Grahame family debts. When the servant Bassett is hired, Paul
finds that he can predict the winner of the horses' races
rocking his wooden horse. Paul asks Bassett to become his
partner, betting their money in the races, trying to prove that
he is lucky and silencing the permanent whisper of the house
needing more money. But the prize is high and fatal.D. H. Lawrence, The Rockinghorse
Winner, 1926.
This is a short story that seems to have been a staple of high
school literature textbooks for many years. The boy rides
his rocking horse and then has "luck" in picking the winners of
horse races that his father bets on. They make more and
more money, but want more and more, and so the boy has to ride
the rocking horse more and more, until he finally dies. It
appeared first in 1926, then in the first volume of Lawrence's
short stories, and then was widely anthologized. If you
find a high school British literature textbook of the
1960s-1980s period, you'll probably find the story. Or it
might be available in another anthology.D. H. Laurence, The Rocking Horse
Winner. I first
read this in a collection that also included "Rappaccini's
Daughter" and "A Canticle for Leibowitz."

Rollerball MurderI seem to remember reading this book in middle school (circa
1976-1977), about a "futuristic" race on rollerskates.
Featured at least 1 or 2 strong main characters. Have been
unable to get this book out of my head for 25 years, and would
love to find a copy of it. Help!!

Solarbabies or Solar
Warriors. The only thing that clicked was a
pretty awful movie made in 1986 called "Solarbabies" (aka Solar
Warriors on the IMDB). This meshes with what you were
talking about, but I couldn't find if it was inspired/based on a
book, or not. Hope this helps!William Harrison, Rollerball (movie),
1975.
This
sci-fi
movie
explored
surrogate
violence.
The
story
was
later
written
as
a
short
story
"Roller
Ball
Murder" (1981). The movie tagline was: "In the future
there will be no war. There will only be Rollerball." As a
sci-fi fan this is the only storyline I recall which had
roller-skating as a major theme.Rollerball. It's
futuristic, it's got rollerskates in it. But it is sort of
apocolyptic and painful. Don't know if this helps or not.William Harrison, Rollerball Murder
and Other Stories,Early
1970's. The movie Rollerball was written by William
Harrison and was based on a short story that he had written and
published in the early 1970's. The name of the book it was in is
Rollerball Murder and Other Stories.

Roman FollyA late teenage girl, whose parents are dead, is being raised by
her grandfather. When she is snubbed at a school dance the
grandfather sends her to Rome, to stay with a redoubable contessa
he knew when studying music in Europe. He tells the girl
"She will teach you what I can't." The contessa is an
overbearing social snob, afraid of causing "brutta
figura"(scandal), a phrase which recurs throughout the book.
The only likable family member is a young man, grandson of the
contessa, who is in love with she doesn't consider suitable.
The American girl helps them to elope. Other characters
include a zany South American millionaire, and a sexy
mistress figure(I think namedBibina). At one point the
American girl gets a job as a mechanic(she knows a lot about
cars. I think the author was a man, and possibly had been a
diplomat of some sort.

Alice-Leone Moats, Roman Folly, 1965. Definitely this book.
"'Princess del Tevere can teach you what I cannot,' LloydHoward has said to his granddaughter
Perdita." (from the inside cover). Also has characters
Nino (Princess' nephew), Bibbina, Nino's mother, a wacky
millionaire from Brazil, a zany English lord, etc. I
haven't read this in a long time, but I remember it being very
funny.I have just seen the reply posted and recognized it at
once. I had been sure that "Roman" was in the title, but
when I searched for it on my own I kept pairing it with
"Scandal" , "Holiday" and so forth. And I'd been sure the
author was a man, but I see my recall was faulty. Thank
you to the responder!

Romper
Room Book of Finger Plays and Action RhymesAnyone know what this title might be? My
customer didn't give me much info, but would like to find this
book she read as a child. She remembers a little song in
it: "Oh she said away on a bright and sunny day on the back of a
crocodile." If you could help me remember the name I would very
much appreciate any help in this matter. At the end of the book
the crocodile eats the lady. I'm sure it was printed in the late
60's. I keep thinking this sounds like a Sendak
book. If it sounds familiar to anyone, please let me know.
Thank you.

Could this be the story "Ladies First"
from Free to Be You and Me, written by Marlo
Thomas and friends in the early 1970s. I don't
remember the exact words, but in that story, a bratty girl (who
thinks she should be treated like a lady) is eaten by a
crocodile.C33 is _not_ the story "Ladies First"
from Free to Be You and Me -- that one is about a
little girl who always insists "ladies first," so she ends up
being the first one eaten by cannibals. I don't know the
story that the requestor is asking about, but we sang the song
as children: "She sailed away on a happy summer day on the
back of a crocodile / You see, said she, he's as tame as he
can be / I'll float him down the Nile / The croc winked an eye
as she waved them all goodby / Wearing a happy smile / At the
end of the ride the lady was inside / And the smile was on the
crocodile!"C33: Just to let you know, in Free to
Be...You and Me the girl gets eaten by tigers who
are only too glad to treat her as a "tender sweet thing". That
story is by Shel Silverstein.I remember the words to the song. She
sailed away on a bright and sunny day on the back of a
crocodile. "You see" said she "he's as tame as he can
be. I'll ride him down the Nile." But the croc winked
his eye as she waved them all goodbye, Wearing a happy smile.
At the end of the ride the lady was inside And the smile was
on the crocodile.Wow! Thank you. I had thought everyone
had long forgotten about me! I will pass this on to my
customer and see if jogs the memory a bit more.---And from another requester---Do you know a children's book/song,
"riding down the nile on a crocodile"? It's been driving my
friend NUTZ for years.C33: This is probably NOT the book you
remember, but that song is reprinted in a book illustrated by Marc
Brown (I think that's his name) (of the "Arthur" series
fame), along with the tune. The book had lots of other fun
story-songs in it too.This is a long shot, but I can visualize
those drawings--could it be one of the books that Sendak
illustrated, called What Do You Say, Dear? or What
Do You Do, Dear? both by Sesyle Joslin?
Maybe this only sounds familiar because there is a crocodile in
one of those books. They are both books on manners.I have been looking for this book for
years! It was sometime around 1974-1977 (I think).
It was a scholastic book type...we ordered it from school and it
came with a plastic record in the back. The song lyrics were the
story words in the book. I can't rember any of the lyrics
but "riding down the nile on a crocodile." I too have
asked everyone for years and only my brother remembers it.
I even contacted Scholastic books...they didn't know of
it. It might have been another book company. Is this
question or any information still on your website???
Please Help! This is the first I've been able to find of anyone
asking or mentioning it in my research. Thanks!*later* Ok...so this book from Marc
Brown...do you know the name of it? The song that is
mentioned in the top of C33 (not reprinted in this email) is not
the song that was in the book that we are trying to find.
I remember the book having pictures of a little boy riding on
the crocodile (I think he ws in a jungle outfit???) and I think
he also rode by the pyramids (???) I also seem to recall that it
was done in a sepia color instead of black and white or
color. Foggy, but seem to recall all that...not sure. Ugh,
this is driving me crazy! Let me know if you find out
anything further or if you know the name of the Marc Brown
book...thanks so much!This sounds like a song that my children
have on one of their tapes that they play in the car, which I
think is called "Never smile at a crocodile". I'll try and find
it and check the lyrics.*later* I listened to my son's tape in the
car today and it wasn't the same song.I don't know about the book, but we used to
sing the song at camp: She rode away on a bright
summer's day / On the back of a crocodile. / You see, said
she, it's as plain as can be / That I'll ride him down the
Nile. / The croc winked his eye as the lady waved good-by /
Wearing a great big smile./ At the end of the ride the lady
was inside / And the smile was on the crocodile!C33 crocodile eats lady: a long shot, but Beasts
and Nonsense: verses and pictures, by Marie Hall
Ets, published Viking 1952 contains "Zoo animals -
gay nonsense verses and beguiling scribbly pictures. Mrs. Ets
delights in the oddest and homeliest: ridiculous
hippopotamuses in bonnets, alligators eating ladies, and
warthogs at the dentist! Perfect for reciting. Ages 5-10."
(HB Oct/52 p.280 pub ad)Sendak, Maurice,Nutshell
Library, 1962. This is a collection of 4 books
by Maurice Sendak. Chicken Soup with Rice, a book of
months (I also have a copy of this in a Scholastic
paperback version) has a picture for September of a boy riding a
crocodile past a pyramid and text: "In September, for a while, I
will ride, a crocodile, down the chicken soupy Nile. Paddle
once, paddle twice, paddle chicken soup, with rice." Also
included in this collection is Pierre, a cautionary tale
about a boy who gets eaten by a lion because he "doesn't care".
The other two titles are Alligators All Around and
One Was Johnny. Published by Harper & Row.
This set has the components Sendak, riding down the nile on a
crocodile, past pyramids and being eaten. I also own a
tape of the set of books being read aloud "Where the Wild Things
Are, In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There, and other stories
by Maurice Sendak, performed by Tammy Grimes, a Caedemon Audio
Cassette. Could be that the story was recorded and included with
a copy of the book. I also found the song mentioned in one
of the responses, though it appears to be unrelated - try
searching on www.kididdles.com under subject index, animals,
crocodile: The Crocodile Written By: Unknown Copyright Unknown She
sailed away on a sunny summer day / On the back of a crocodile
/ "You see," said she, "he's as tame as tame can be, / I'll
ride him down the Nile." // The croc winked his eye as
she bade them all goodbye / Wearing a happy smile / At the end
of the ride, the lady was inside, / And the smile was on the
crocodile!edward lear. I remember reading
this poem and could swear it's Edward Lear - the "Owl
and the Pussy Cat" guy.The Romper Room Book of Finger Plays
and Action Rhymes. "She sailed away on a
bright and sunny day on the back of a crocodile." This
song and finger play can be found in The Romper Room Book
of Finger Plays and Action Rhymes.
Yes, I'll bet it is. June Pierce, The Romper Room
Book of Finger Plays and Action Rhymes.
Illustrated by Ruth Wood. New York: Wonder Books, 1955.

Room
for CathyI think this was for older children,
perhaps a chapter book. It was about a girl who I think
moved to a new house. The only thing I remember is that she had
a special room that she was allowed to fix up for herself and
her friends. I just remember I loved the room, (which I think
was central to the story) because it was fixed up in a
minature-grown up way. I read both of these books in the
sixties.

R18 Could this be Room for Cathy
by Catherine Woolley? The Leonard family moves
from an apartment into a new house with more room for the five
family members. Cathy, the oldest, is especially happy
because she is getting a room all to herself with her own
bathroom and closet. After all the rooms get painted Cathy
starts decorating her room and fashions her own
bookshelves. Then the dad misses out on a promotion he was
expecting, and they have to rent out some rooms. (You guessed
it, Cathy's room is one of the rooms rented out) Does this
sound familiar???A Room for Cathy by Catherine
WoolleyHi, I'm visiting your site for the first
time and saw the book stumper of the week. The first thing that
came to my mind was A Room For Cathy by Catherine
Woolley. This was one of my favorite books as a kid, and I
even have my childhood copy to this day.A Room for Cathy by Catherine
Woolley. Its kind of hard to find, But I
enjoyed reading it again after many years!
--- A girl named Cathy moves to a new house
with her family and is overjoyed at not having to share a
bedroom with her little sister (Chrissy?) anymore. She
fixes up her new bedroom but then there is some kind of
financial crisis and her family is forced to rent out bedrooms
for money, so Cathy ends up sharing with Chrissy again.
There is a sort of sequel to this book that focuses more on
Chrissy, and involves a very grand trip to Canada by train
with her father.

Catherine Woolley, A Room For
Cathy, 1956.
Definitely A Room For Cathy by Catherine
Woolley.Catherine Woolley, A Room for
Cathy. This is definitely the book. Cathy's
little sister is Chris. There are two books about the
little sister. They are Cathy's Little Sister and Chris
in Trouble.Catherine Wooley, A Room for
Cathy, 1956. This is definitely Cathy's New
Room. I read this series as a kid and was so excited
to find them again a few years ago. There are several
Cathy books Miss Cathy Leonard, Cathy Leonard
Calling, Cathy's Little Sister, Chris in
Trouble, Cathy and the Beautiful People, Cathy
Discovers a Secret.Catherine Woolley, A Room for
Cathy, 1956. The book you're looking for is A
Room for Cathy by Catherine Woolley. The
first book in a series about Cathy, it came out in hardcover and
as a Scholastic paperback. The other books in the series are Miss
Cathy Leonard (1958), Cathy Leonard Calling (1961),
Cathy's Little Sister (1964), Cathy and the Beautiful
People (1971) and Cathy Uncovers a Secret (1972).
Woolley also wrote two other series about girls...one for Libby
and one for friends Ginnie and Genevea. Writing under the name
of Jane Thayer, she wrote many picture books, including the Gus
Ghost series.
---A new room for Susan? 1973,
juvenile. I'm thinking this was published by Scholastic,
Inc. It was not a terribly reflective story but
sweet. A young girl is very excited when her parents move
into a nice home. Something happens financially and they
must rent out rooms. She has to give up her new bedroom
which she had spent a lot of time decorating. She learns
that the new friends she has in the boarders far outweigh the
material possessions she gave up.

This almost sounds
like Eleanor Cameron's A Room Made of Windows. Anyway the date is right.Catherine Woolley, A
Room for Cathy. A Room for
Cathy is the book you are looking for. Cathy and her
family move to a victorian house in the country. Cathy
has her own "suite" and decorates it lovingly. Her
family falls on hard time and have to take in boarders.
Cathy is forced to share a room with her sister, Chris.
This is the first book a 5-6 book series.Catherine Wooley, A Room For Cathy, 1956,
copyright. You were so close, but I believe "Cathy" is
the name you are looking for.Catherine Woolley, Vernonica
Reed (illus), A Room
For Cathy, 1956, copyright. It was
an exciting event for everyone when the family moved from
their crowded suburban apartment to a beautiful big house
in the country. To Cathy it was also the fulfillment
of a long-cherished dream. Although she dearly loved
her younger sister and brother, she didn't enjoy sharing a
room with Chris and bureau drawers with Jeff. And
now she would have a room of her own! Life in the
gracious house was all that Cathy had hoped for until a
change in their financial situation made it necessary for
her parents to rent some of their space, including her own
precious room. Cathy was heartbroken. She
wondered if she would ever again be able to read or dream
or pretend all by herself. Her adjustment to the new
situation forms the climax of this warm and tender story,
whose happy family life, gay adventures, and sure
understanding place it high on the list of Miss Woolley's
popular books. Part of a series of books about Cathy.Catherine Woolley, A Room for Cathy,
1960, approximate. I'm pretty sure this is the one
you're looking for. Cathy is the oldest child, and it
took a long time to get her own room. Then the family
falls on hard times, and they rent it out. A girl
and her mother end up renting the room--one of them is
named Naomi.Catherine Woolley, Cathy's Room,
1950, approximate. This is probably the book you
are looking for. Cathy shares a room with her two
younger siblings and can hardly wait to move to
their new house, where she'll have her own room to
decorate and dream in. Then there are some financial
difficulties and her room has to be rented.Catherine Woolley, A Room for Cathy.
Cathy
doesn't get to keep her beautiful new room and has
to go back to sharing with her little sister, Chris,
but on the other hand makes friends with the mother
and daughter who rent part of the house. This
is the first of the books about Cathy and her
family; others are CATHY LEONARD CALLING, CATHY
UNCOVERS A SECRET, CATHY'S LITTLE SISTER, CATHY AND
THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, CHRIS IN TROUBLE.Catherine Woolley, A Room for Cathy,
1956, copyright.Catherine Woolley,
A Room for
Cathy, 1956, copyright.
This is the second book in Woolley's Cathy
Leonard series. Cathy's family moves from
the city to a big house in the suburbs and she
looks forward to her new room which she
decorates with her mother. Financial
worries cause her parents to soon take in
boarders and Cathy has to share a room with her
sister. Her relationship with the mother
and daughter boarders becomes close and she
ultimately values their friendship more than her
old room.Not sure
about the details, but I do remember that part
about the girl getting her own room at last,
one with a semi-private bathroom, then
dismayed that her younger sister wanted the
room on the other side of the bath. There is a
scene where the girl and her sister have to
share her room, and the older one puts several
boards in the middle as a divider, then
repents of the act. I think you're right about
the family having to rent some rooms out, not
sure for how long.Catherine
Wooley, A
Room for Cathy. I
know this one! It's A Room for Cathy by Catherine
Wooley. I think there might be a
sequel, but I could be wrong. All her books
are great.Catherine
Wooley, A Room for Cathy,
1970 (8th printing). I remember this
book well. She's delighted to move to a
new house, where she no longer has to
share a room with her younger
sister. She paints the room a
bright, cheery yellow, and decorates it
herself. Her father then loses his
job, and the family cannot afford the home
any longer.Catherine
Woolery, A Room for Cathy,
1956, copyright. Moving into a big
house means Cathy will finally get her
own room--until they need to rent it out
to make money, when she learns about
sharing. Reprinted in 1975 by
Scholastic.
---Story of a young girl whose family
moves into a new house, where her dream bedroom is decorated in
yellow. All is great until the family falls on had times
& takes in a border who shares her bedroom suit. She
learns some lessons & the family's fortune improves again.

Catherine Woolley, A Room For Cathy.Catherine Woolley, A Room for Cathy. Definitely this one. See solved mysteries or
G508 in the archives for more details.Catherine Wooley, A Room for Cathy. This was
asked and solved last month!Woolley, Catherine, A Room for Cathy,
1956, copyright. This is definitely A Room
for Cathy. I loved this book as a child. Besides
being a wonderful book, it's easy to find.

Room Made of Windows Rootabaga StoriesWow! What a great web page! I had all but given up hope of ever
finding this book, but now I think it really could happen. The
book is at least 40 years old (I'm 48 and read it as a kid). I
don't know the title or the author, but maybe this will help. It
is a story book, including various unrelated stories. The one I
remember the best is called The
Huckabuck Family and How They Raised Popcorn in Nebraska and
Quit and Came Back. The reason they quit is they
had a fire and all the popcorn popped. There was also a story
called (I think) The Three Sillies.
And a story about a boy who hated animals and had a dream where
all the animals came and took away things
they had given him. I think the sheep took back his wool
blanket, things like that. I have looked for this book for many
years, but no one I talk to has heard of it. I hope you can help.
Thanks.

Like so many others I don't recall the
title or author, however, here is a description of the book for
young readers. There is an inventive farmer and his family
who spend their entire savings to buy an acre of land from a
shifty salesman. The land turns out to be an acre deep
into mud. The mud produces incredibly large vegatables and
the farmer and his family prosper. I recall a popcorn and
sunshine - powered car but it may be in another book about the
same farmer. Your help would be greatly appreciated.I'm looking for a book that might be titled
something like "Adventures in the Rutabaga Country."
They're on a train, and you need a long, yellow leather slab
ticket with a blue spanch across it to ride. They go
through a country where people stand on tall ladders and pick
balloons. That's all I remember.A21 is definitely a tale from Carl
Sandburg's Rutabaga Tales. Don't remember
which tale, but it's in there!Sid Fleischmann. I believe one
person's stumper has been incorrectly identified as Rootabaga
Stories in the solved mysteries lists. The
person asking about the one-acre farm that grows huge
vegetables, the fantastic car, etc. I strongly believe
this request refers to a Sid Fleischmann series, McBroom.
Some titles are McBroom's Ghost, McBroom's Ear,
etc. They had a "Wonderful One-Acre Farm" and eleven
children, written asWillJillHesterChesterPeterPollyTimTomMaryLarryandLittleClarinda.
That
must
have
made
an
impression
on
me,
cause
that's
from
memory!
McBroom
could
plant
anything,
not
just
vegetables, and it would grow to gigantic size. I do think
one of the books in this series is being described, not one of
the Rootabaga Stories.---I am looking for a children's story book that I had in the
1950's. It had a mix of stories, including the Tinderbox and The
Huckabuck Family and Rumplestiltskin, and The Marriage
Procession of the Rag Doll and the Broom, and the Magic Cook
Pot, and a BUNCH more! Mom threw it out because it didn't have a
cover, so the title was lost long ago. This book has great color
illustrations.

Be sure to check out the Anthologies
page to see if there's anything familiar there.
Perhaps the Better Homes and Garden Story Book? Carl Sandburg, Rootabaga Stories. These are great stories. The
Huckabucks (the Chinese Silver Slipper buckle) was justre-issued in the last 2 years with
illustrations by David Small--very nice.

Rootie
KazootieChildren's book about a society where everything in it had polka
dots on it. I remember something about a thief who stole the
polka dots.

There's a thief who steals Dottie's polk-a-dots in Rootie Kazootie, Detective.
--- The book was the size and shape of a small Golden book. A
little girl loves dots and everything she wears and owns has
polka dots on it. A villain, complete with twirly black
moustache comes into town and steals every polka dot in town.

Dottie and the evil Poison Zanzaboo again. It's the
original of the Little Golden Books featuring Rootie
Kazootie: Rootie Kazootie, Detective.
Pictures by Mel Crawford. Simon & Schuster, 1953.
Little Golden Book #150. See more on the Most Requested page.
--- Please search for a childrens book
published about 50 years ago about a mean man who stole all
the polka-dots off of childrens clothing and the childrens
efforts to get back their polka-dots

---This book was about a little girl who
hung her clothes out to dry on a clothesline either her
polka dots went away or they appeared when she did the
wash. It's not Little Lulu and I thought it was a Golden
book but I've met up with only deadends. I think I
remember it's being a skinny book but it may have been in a
book with other stories. I read it at my Grandmothers
when I was young (6-10 yrs. old). The main theme was the
Polka dots...they ended up on everything. I sure hope
you can help.

Well, Polka Dottie does kind-of look like Little Lulu in style,
and it is a Little Golden Book, despite the fame derived from its
television show component. It's Steve Carlin's
beloved Rootie Kazootie, Detective. See the Most Requested page for more.
---In the early 50s I had a favorite
book about a little girl who loved polka dots, I believe her
name was polka dottie. A Villain steals all of the polka dots!

Harvey Comics, Little Dot. Not quite a solution, but perhaps
you're thinking of the character, Little Dot, from Harvey Comics
(creators of Casper the Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich,
etc.)? These characters were used, not only in comic
books, but also in Wonder Books, Little Golden Books, etc.Could it have been a
comic book? Dot Polka was a little girl who loved dots in a
series of comic books. She was a friend of Lotta
Plump's.Steve Carlin, Mel Crawford
(illus), Rootie
Kazootie, Detective, 1953,
copyright. A Little Golden Book, in which Rootie
Kazootie (a character from a popular 1950's TV show) must
help out his friend, Polka Dottie, by tracking down the
polka-dot thief.Steve Carlin, Rootie Kazootie, Detective,
1953, copyright. If you're remembering Rootie
Kazootie, and his girl friend Polka Dottie, look at
Loganberry's page about this popular title: http://loganberrybooks.com/most-carlin.html.Crawford, Mel.
I don't have a title, but Mel Crawford wrote some Little Golden
Books based on a 50's tv character named "Rootie
Kazootie," and he had a girlfriend named "Polka
Dottie." Probably worth pursuing.A possibility
only--there was a comic books series about a girl
named Dot Polka (the same company that did Little
Lulu) who loved dots and was surrounded by them. She
usually wore a red dress with black dots, and had a
best friend named Lola (I think--it could have been
Ella). Could you be remembering an expanded version of
the comic?

Rotten Islandthe stumper I have is a book I read as a
child in the 70’s. It was a fascinating illustrated book
(not very long) with all of these weird and ugly creatures that
lived on an island (?). They fight each other over a
flower that appears out of nowhere one day, and they all end up
killing each other. After they are gone, the flower covers
the island, and everything that used to be horrible and ugly
becomes beautiful.I honestly don’t remember much about it
other than the fact that the illustrator had a fantastic
imagination, and the strange creatures he drew were the reason I
checked the book out of the library over and over again. Any
ideas??

Wiliam Steig, Rotten Island.
This is exactly the book you're looking for.William Steig, Rotten Island.
This book was originally published with the title The
Bad Island. According to reviews I've read of the reprint,
the editors tampered with the text significantly. The original
version is very hard to find and expensive.

Roquefort GangI read this book in elementary school, so
I'd say it was between the years 1980-1985. Three
gangster-like mice named Sid, Marlowe and Giovanni help a girl
mouse named Nicole when she gets trapped in one of those black
box traps that big companies/factories would set to catch
mice. I believe the mice had a godfather-type character
they worked for. The story continued on to further
adventures, but I don't remember what exactly. The strange
part is, we got these books in school, to read for class, and I
seem to recall they had no covers (very strange). I'm
wanting to say one of the chapters was actually titled "The
Black Box."

Clifford, Sandy, The Roquefort Gang, 1981. "A bold trio of mice help Nicole
make a daring rescue of her two charges and the other mice held
captive in a dreadful prison."Clifford, Sandy, The Roquefort Gang, 1981. A bold trio of mice help Nicole
make a daring rescue of her two charges and the other mice held
captive in a dreadful prison

Rosa-Too-LittleHi--Hope this finds you well. I sat at an
awards dinner last night with an older woman who is not internet
savvy. She asked whether I had heard of a children's book that
involves a little girl named Rosa who wants a library card but
has to learn to write to get one. Rosa does learn to write, gets
her card and all ends happily. If anyone would know, I thought
you would.

Roscoe's
LeapBoy
(and/or girl?) goes to live in a big old house with a
standoff-ish grandfather (uncle?). The kid(s) explores the
house, and towards the end finds a room filled with old,
mechanical toys. At the very end, the kid(s) finds another
room. In this room there is a large blade that swings from
above.

Gillian Cross, Roscoe's
Leap.I've read this one
and I'm certain it's the book you are seeking. It's about two
children, Hannah and Stephen, who live with their mother in an
old rambling (and decaying) mansion built over a waterfall.Their uncle lives in a separate wing
of the mansion.There is a room
with a mechanical guillotine which holds a mystery.SOLVED: Someone posted the title
to my book! Was that you?! Thank you for your
wonderful website! My 18-year search is finally over!Kudos once again to our ace Stumper Magicians!

Rose
and the RingI've been trying to remember the title and author of this book
for years. It's about a little girl found ragged and dirty
in the woods, barely able to speak. She is taken in by
a Princess, who herself is terrible at drawing andother
things, but this little girl fixe things for her. Later it's
discovered that someone had saved the scraps of clothing the girl
was wearing when she was found, and it turns out that she is the
true princess, by the name of Rosalba.
Thanks for your help!

Possibly this is The Rose & The
Ring" by William Thakeray (sp?). The title
was from a script of a stage version, but I imagine the books'
title wouldn't be too different. Hope this helps. What a
wonderful site!!Hi, great site.. The story the
reader remembered about a lost girl who turned out to be
"Princess Rosalba", was The Rose and the Ring by
William Thackeray (sp?). I haven't seen it in book form,
only as a script for a kids' theatrical play.I have an old Puffin version of that in
prose, rather than play, form.

Rose
for Mr. BloomMy school librarian read this book to my class in the '70s.
All I can remember is that the man in the book had a rose growing
first from one ear and then from his other ear.

Waber, Bernard, A Rose for Mr Bloom, 1968. Houghton Mifflin, The life of an
ordinary businessman is changed entirely when one day a rose
begins growing out of his ear.You are correct R141 is A Rose for Mr. Bloom. I
have been trying to find a picture of the cover and just
recieved an email today from a man who has the book for sale.
Thank you so much for helping solve one of the book mysteries
from my childhood. Now if I could just solve the rest.

The Rose RoundI only remember a few things from this book, which I read in the
late '70s or early '80s. There is a girl named Caro and her
younger brother. I think the brother is named Theo and is in
a wheelchair, but I'm not positive. At one point, there's a
young man who's interested in Caro, and I think he and Caro and
the brother are in a rose garden together. The young man
mentions that he's 28, and the brother says, "Caro's
twenty-eight." And Caro may have said something about how it
wasn't polite to tell a lady's age. For some reason, this
little snippet of the story has stuck with me. Any help
would be appreciated!

Meriol Trevor (author), The Rose
Round.C428 is not The Rose Round,
as someone suggested – I looked at that book and it’s nothing
like it.SOLVED: Meriol Trevor, The Rose Round. Yes, The
Rose Round is definitely the book I was thinking of - I
remembered a lot of details wrong (for example, there's a major
character with a disability, but it's not the brother and he
doesn't use a wheelchair), so thanks so much to the poster who
still figured it out!

RosebudSmall green pet shop turtle get a rosebud painted on its back.

Could be Let's get turtles, by Millicent E.
Selsam, illustrated by Arnold Lobel, Harper & Row,
1965. A Science I can read book. Nope, no painting on turtle's shell.
The boys just want to know what to feed their turtles.There is a turtle painting scene in Henry
Reed, Inc. by Keith Robertson! (1958) scene
is illustrated.Ed Emberley, Rosebud, 1966.
Rosebud
was
one
of
my
childhood
favorites!
A
little
green
turtle
wants
to
be
different
and
finally
gets her wish when she is caught by a pet store and has a
rosebud painted on her back.

RosemaryI read this book from my Oklahoma
elementary school library in the 1960's. (I seem to remember the
book seemed "old" to me even then, so this may be a very old
book.) The story was about a young man (Hugh) going to
medical school and raising his two younger sisters, Rosemary and
Dana. Their mother is deceased or very ill and away in a
hospital, I can't remember which. Rosemary was described
as having red-gold (titian?) hair, and Dana was smart but
stubborn and always in trouble. (Hugh at one point has to remove
a splinter from her foot that she has let get infected.)
Unfortunately I can't remember any more specific details about
the story. It was a very touching book, and I read it several
times but have not been able to remember anything about the
title. Thanks if anyone can shed some light on this!

Josephine Lawrence, Rosemary, 1922. Sounds like
Rosemary. There are three sisters -- Rosemary with
"red-gold hair", Shirley, and Winnie. Their brother, Hugh,
takes care of them while their mother is hospitalized they also
have to put up with their Aunt Trudy coming to help out.
It's largely assorted domestic adventures -- for example, the
girls lose Aunt Trudy's ring and Rosemary tries to earn money to
replace it many scenes deal with the girls adjusting to Aunt
Trudy's presence and Rosemary's stubbornness or "Willis
will." I can't find an injured foot, but Rosemary
(influenced by her friend Nina) buys high-heeled pumps when she
goes out, her shoe gets caught in a trolley rail and she's
almost run down. The heel breaks and she has to hobble
home that way.YES!! THANK YOU!!! :) I remember these
things now, especially the “Willis Will” and Aunt Trudy.
It sounds like I may have blended this story with different book
when I was struggling to remember details, but I recognized your
description immediately. Again, thanks SO much! A
30-year mystery, SOLVED!!!

Rosemary TreeI am looking for a book for my mom. We
don't remember the title or the author, though we were thinking
Elizabeth Goudge, Rumor Godden, somebody like that, definitely
English. We remember a little girl at boarding school, a mean
headmistress, and a dog repeatedly called a "sleeve dog." We
think the little girl stole the dog and ran away.

Perhaps the following will help jog
someone's memory? According to the American Heritage
Dictionary, a sleeve dog is "A very small Pekingese, usually 15
centimeters (6 inches) or less in height" but the Oxford English
Dictionary says it is "a very small Pekinese dog, usually under
six pounds in weight." And yes, the OED spells the dog's
breed without a "g"---it's not a typographical error. In
case anyone is wondering, the book the stumper requester is
seeking is NOT Fu-Dog by Rumer Godden. Fu-Dog is about
Li-La, who receives a tiny green satin dog from her Great Uncle
for her birthday. Li-La can hear the toy dog speak, and
travels to London's Chinatown with her brother, Malcolm, to
visit the Chinese relatives she has never met. Malcolm
gets hurt and the toy dog is lost, but the Chinese and English
halves of Li-La's family are reconciled, and Great Uncle gives
Fu-Dog back to Li-La in the form of a living "Peking"
puppy. In other words, it's the correct dog breed, but the
wrong book.Elizabeth Goudge, The Rosemary Tree. I'm sure this is "The Rosemary
Tree" by Elizabeth Goudge, which includes an evil headmistress,
an abused Pekinese (the 'sleeve dog') and a little girl who
steals the dog to save it--as just part of the plot in this
adult novel by the well-loved author.Elizabet Goudge, the Rosemary Tree. I'm pretty sure that you're
thinking of the Rosemary tree. It is about a family (father is
vicar, 3 girls in a not-very-good school, elderly nanny. The
youngest daugther steals the pekenise (which is referred to as a
sleeve dog) belonging to the headteacher because it is
overweight and unhappy and she wants her mother to have it.
There is also a love story, betweeen the mothers ex-fiancee and
the younger school teacher, and reconcilation between Jahn (the
father) and his wife. I think you'll find it quite easy to find
a copy.Elizabeth Goudge, The Rosemary Tree. You guys are
terrific! This is the exact book I was looking for! My stepdad
has cancer, and my mom has been spending a lot of time at the
hospital, so I wanted her to have the book she was "craving."
Thank you very much!

The Rose Round
I read it in late 70s- early 80s.The
main character is a boy in a wheelchair (David? mid-to-late teens?).His sister, Caro, is 28.They're orphans, a man is interested in Caro and the boy
doesn't like that.A fancy rose garden
is important.

Meriol Trevor, The Rose Round.I think
this may be The Rose Round by Meriol Trevor. The main
character is Matt who isn't in a wheelchair - however his sister
is Caro, they are both orphans and a rose garden is
important. Matt doesn't like Caro's fiiancee, however when
she takes ajob in the big house she meets Theo who has a withered
arm and is involved with a school for disabled children.

Meriol Trevor, The Rose Round. Yes, that's it! I was
wrong about the wheelchair - I think vaguely remembered that one
of the main characters was disabled, and at some point
remembered that wrongly as the boy used a wheelchair. But
this is definitely the book I was thinking of. Thank you!

Rosie's WalkThis book basically follows a Chicken as he wanders through the
farm. As he goes, a wolf is trying to catch him, to no
avail. There was little text, but great pictures. For
example at one point the wolf is about to pounce, but steps on a
rake, which flies up to smack him in the face. I remember loving
this book when I was very young (before 1979). Hope you can
find it.

Hutchins, Rosie's WalkHutchins, Pat, Rosie's Walk.Should still be in print (and definitely in most
libraries) -- Rosie (a hen or rooster) walks around the
farm. Bland and minimal text describes her
walk only the illustrations show a fox vainly tracking
her. (Each time he thinks he has her something goes awry.)Pat Hutchins, Rosie's Walk. Fits the description in many ways, though
it's a fox, not a wolf, that does the chasing.

Rosy
NoseThis is a 1940's book about a polar bear that had a red nose.

R46 rosy nose: should be Rosy Nose,
by Bill and Bernard Martin, published Kansas City,
Tell-Well Press 1946. By the author and illustrator of The
Little Squeegy Bug, "A refreshingly original
story about a little polar bear combined with factual
documentation about the cold North Pole, colorfully
illustrated."

Rotten BookThis book was illustrated all in black and white. The
drawings were pretty highly-detailed. It's about a boy
(Simon?) who is really mean to his little sister. His mother
seems to dote on the little sister and he is jealous. Eventually,
he shaves her hair off. Then she sorta looks like him.
One of them ends up in prison or a sanitorium or something I
think. I also seem to remember something about eggs behind a
radiator, and that he loves his sister in the end. I've been
looking for this book forever. Any help would be *really*
appreciated.

This was something I also had to track down
for myself. It's THE ROTTEN BOOK by MAry
Rodgers, ill. by Steven Kellogg, 1969, 1985 ~from a
librarianMary Rodgers (author), Steven
Kellogg (illustrator), The Rotten Book,
1969. This is definitely the correct answer! Simon
overhears his parents discussing a rotten little boy during
breakfast. When his father says, "That kid's going to land
up in jail one of these days...and it'll be nobody's fault but
his own," Simon wonders what the boy did. Did he put his
eggs in his napkin and hide it behind the radiator, then wipe
his mouth on his shirt? Simon imagines all sorts of awful
things the kid could have done, and the book's illustrations
show this dreadful behavior in detail. In one scene, he
imagines putting Silly Putty in his sister's hair, cutting all
of her hair off, locking her in a closet when she objects, and
then being arrested when the fire department and police arrive
and find the key in his pocket. He imagines what life
would be like in jail...then resolves to behave VERY well, and
begins by eating his breakfast egg and carrying the family's
plates to the kitchen. This was Mary Rodgers' first book
for children. A talented composer, she wrote the musical Once
Upon A Mattress (1959) as well as the children's
book Freaky Friday (1972). She is the
daughter of Richard Rodgers, who composed musicals first with
Lorenz Hart and later with Oscar Hammerstein.

Rotten
KidphabetsMy sister and I remember a book from the
late 50's or early 60's about manners. Possibly named The book of manners. Some of the characters are Polly Politeness
and Grabby Gert. In fact the book might follow the
alphabet for the names. I would love to find one!

First to mind comes Munro Leaf'sManners
Can Be Fun, and even How to Behave and Why,
both are 1940's and have crude child-like drawings and
cautionary tales. Then there's Gellett Burgess'Goops,
which feature silly poems encouraging better manners. But
none of these progress with names through the alphabet like you
describe. Let me think....M51: Can't resist mentioning a VERY good and
funny/serious book on good manners for kids - Delia Ephron'sDo I Have to Say Hello? I think it was written in
the last ten years or so. IIRC, it sympathizes well with kids'
complaints that grownups never notice when they behave, only
when they don't. She is also the author of How to Eat
Like a Child and Other Lessons in Not Being a Grownup
and is, of course, Nora's sister.Have just found my copy of Munro Leaf's
Manners can be fun, and there are no individually
named characters - just 'types' like 'Touchey' - all hands and
no head; 'Snoopies' - who go into rooms without knocking,
etc. So whatever it is that depicts Gertie Grab & Polly
Polite, it isn't this ...M51 manners: this one doesn't look bad - Rotten
Kidphabets, written and illustrated by Robert
Tallon, published Holt Rinehart & Winston 1975. "An
A-to-Z parade of deliciously unlovable characters - "Horrible
Hanna", "Litterbug Lena", "Ucky Ulysses", and many other
incorrigibles - for children to enjoy, laugh at, and learn
from. Ages 5-9." (HB Oct/75 p.536 pub ad) It has the
alphabet aspect and similar names to those recalled.

Round
Round WorldIt may be titled "Round Round World. It starts: "Mr.
Wallaby had a cat. His name was Bernaby. There was
just one thing wrong. His fur was too fuzzy, his fur was too
long. It made Mr. Wallaby sneeze and sneeze.
Katchoo. so what was Mr. Wallaby to do?" Mr. Wallaby
decides to give the cat away and eventually sends him around the
world. But none of the new homes are liked by Bernaby,
so Bernaby goes home. "as cats will do" Eventually
Bernaby is given to the little girl next door "And that was
just right for a cat. AND THAT WAS THAT" Everything in
quotes is how I remember the book read. I read it so many
times to my kids that at one time I could quote the whole
book. It was a drug store type book, but was not a Golden
book. I would pay any reasonable amount to obtain this book.

Michael Douglas, Round, Round World,1960. "Allergic to his cat, Mr. Wallaby
sends him away farther and farther each time, but the cat always
comes back."

Round TripI remember this book from my childhood best
I can recall it would be around 1990. It is a black and white
illustrated book. The story line I think is about travling
through the city and the country. When you finish reading the
book from front to back you flip it upsidedown and read it from
back to front. When you flip it over the picture make a
completly different picture. What was once a city sky line is
now a stream with trees( or something like that).

Jonas, Ann,Round Trip.
You read the book from front to back and it's a trip from the
city out to the country, then turn the book upside down and you
take the trip back to the city - the black ground becomes the
black night sky.Jonas, Ann,Round Trip. This
is it!Jonas, Ann,Round Trip, 1983.
Black
and
white
illustrations
and
text
record
the
sights
on
a
day
trip
to
the
city
and
back home again to the country.Jonas, Ann,Round Trip.
This is most likely Round Trip. All the illustrations are
black & white a family goes on a trip to the city, then you
flip the book around for the drive back home. Telephone wires
one way become a stream when you flip the picture upside down,
etc.Jonas, Ann, author and illustrator.
Round Trip. 1983. Originally published by
Greenwillow Books in 1983, reissued by Mulberry Books in 1990.
This is definitely the book you're looking for! The black
and white illustrations and text record the sights on a day trip
to the city and back home again to the country. The trip to the
city is read from the front of the book to the back. Then
the book is turned upside down, and the trip to to the country
is read from the back of the book to the front. The
illustrations are cleverly designed to depict completely
different scenes depending on which way the book is held. Ann
Jonas is a fabulous author/illustrator and has created many
clever books with detailed, thought-provoking
illustrations. I encourage you to read as many of them as
you can!

RowdyI'm hoping that you can help me locate a book for a friend of
mine. She read the book when she was a child back in the late
1940's or possibly early 50's. It's an illustrated book about a
horse named Rowdywho was always
getting into trouble for eating apples off trees (she thinks).
It's possibly either a Little Golden Book or a Dell Book.
I'd be so grateful for any help you can give because she has been
trying to locate it for nine years!

This sounds like Jane Wyatt, Rowdy
(Whitman, '46). Tell-a-Tale book about a foal who disobeys her
mother (about eating apples?).Hello Harriet, Happy to hear from you! It
sounds like this might be the book, so yes please search for a
copy. Let me know if anything turns up plus all of the
details.Is this possibly Apron Strings &
Rowdy by Aldredge & McKee?Wyatt, Jane. Rowdy.
Illustrated by Janet Laura Scott. Whitman, 1956. A Tell-a-Tale
Book.

Roweena, Teena and TotHi! I'm looking for a children's book
that was a "read aloud" book in about 1955 or 57 or so...it wasabout three little black girls...triplets I
think...one wore pink, one wore blue and one wore yellow.
Theyall had these matching dresses and hair
ribbons and parasols. They were drawn to be almostimpossibly cute. I'm sure this
is one of those books that is so "non PC" that it is long out of
date. Doyou have any idea what it might be?

A possible: Pyrnelle, L.C.Diddie,
Dumps and Tot, published by Harper, 1920s "A
plantation story full offunny kinky-haired pickaninnies. An old
story which deserves a long life." No comment.Lindman, Flicka, Ricka, Dicka
(various) 1960's ??? Part of a series - also a set about three
little boys(Snip, Snap & Snur).Maj Lindman's series of three blonde Swedish siblings (Flicka,
Ricka, Dicka were the girls, Snipp, Snapp,Snurr the boys) were originally published in the
late 1930's and are once again available in paperback. They
are
not black. Another possible - Rowena, Teena, Tot
and the Blackberries, by Fannie Burgheim
Blumberg, publishedWhitman 1934, 32 pages. "Story of three
little colored girls taken on a blackberrying expedition by
theirgrandmother, and how they almost came to
grief when they tried to drive the old horse, Rosie. Coloredpictures on every page." (Book Review
Digest, 1934)M24 matching triplets: more on one
suggested: Roweena, Teena, Tot, by Fannie
Burgheim Blumberg, illustrated by Mary Grosjean, published
Whitman 1938, 7 1/2 x 9 1/2", 32 pages. "Scarce title of
charming story told in southern country dialect of Rowena, Teena
and Tot, three "little colored girls, who went to visit
their grandmammy in a little country town in the south. (The
girls are city girls). Grandmammy did not talk like her
grandchildren did. When she was a little girl, the colored
people of the South where Grandmammy lived had a special way
of talking and she never learned to talk any other way."
The girls go on a wild black berry picking adventure with a
moral to the story." - they are definitely depicted as
triplets, and each has a different coloured sunhat (pink,
yellow, white), but all wearing blue gingham dresses.

Royal
Book of BalletI remember an illustrated book, large,
coffee table sized, and it was based on several ballets.
It told the stories of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Coppelia,
Petruska, and Sleeping Beauty. It was a beautiful book, and I
would love to find it again for my own. (This was in our grade
school library!) I remember once about 20 years ago seeing
it at FAO Schwartz. Should have bought it then...wondering if
you might know the name of this one, and where I can find a
copy. You came through with Green Eyes, I'm hoping you can
help again!

B32 might be Shirley Goulden,The
Royal Book of Ballet. I can't find the one
that's supposed to be around here, but it is an oversized
volume, with color illustrations from watercolors or paintings
(not photographs) and contains the stories of Swan Lake,
Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, the Nutcracker, Petrushka, and
Coppelia. That's one more than stated, but I should
think Coppelia was pretty unusual. It was
published by Follett, and the one I have, 3rd printing, was
copyright 1962.You all are simply amazing! That
definately sounds like the book! I am very interersted
in accquiring it! Let me know if it's available!Found my Royal Book of Ballet,
so here's some details. The cover illustration is from
Swan Lake, of a large swan with wings spread and a
ballerina. The main colors are blue, white, green, and
pink. The illustrations are by Maraja. The
title page has an illustration of dark pink ballet slippers
hanging by their laces, and a yellow rose. The book is
12-1/2" high by about 9-1/2". Every story starts
with a page with the title and some edging, opposite an
illustration; every page has an illustration; and every story
has a two-page illustration in the middle of it. Beneath
the DJ, the book is dark pink cloth with the same ballet
slippers and rose on the cover in black.

Rufous RedtailFor many years, I have been looking for a
children's book that my 3rd or 4th grade teacher read to the
class in the mid to late 1960s that I think (thought) was called
"Rufus the red-tailed hawk" about a young hawk, growing up,
going on first migration, etc.

Franklin Russell, Hawk in the Sky, 1965. I don't know if the hawk's name
was Rufus, but this one is from the right era and "Portrays the
life of the red-tailed hawk: its emergence from a red-speckled
shell learning to fly, to hunt, and to feed autumn
migration and mating."Garrett, Helen, Rufous Redtail, illustrated by Francis Lee Jaques. NY
Hale 1947. Yes, spelled Rufous (latin 'red'). Story of a
young red-tailed hawk's growth to maturity.R66 -2 Rufus Redtail by
Helen Garrett is on ABE's want list. More people
have it listed as Rufus the redtailed or red-tailed hawk, which
is how I remember it; I have had copies in the past.Helen Garrett, Rufous Redtail, 1947, copyright. Rufous Redtail
is the correct spelling - I know as I am looking at my copy as I
write. It was published by Viking Press. It is a
great story that I have read to each of my 3 children, my 9 year
old daughter listening to it avidly over the last couple of
weeks. It does indeed feature a redtail hawk from egg to
nest to fledgling to migration to next generation. It is
well written (other than gratuitous use of 'suddenly' every now
and again!).

Rumors
of Spring
I read this book around 1994, and can't remember title or
author. In the book there was an unexplained phenomenon of
trees explosively growing overnight, I think reproducing by stolon
or runner growth (the way grass does) and taking over towns and
encroaching into the city (maybe set in Canada?). Some
scientists went into the forest to try to find out what was going
on, and one of them brought their early
teen daughter. She sees a naked boy in the forest, and
leaves some clothes she had sewn for him on the
riverbank. The next time she sees him he is wearing the
clothes, and they begin to interact. Details are fuzzy
here, but somehow it turns out that the boy was the son of
some scientists who died in the forest a decade ago, and he had
been living inside a tree or had become a tree in the intervening
years. When the girl helps him rejoin human society, the
trees taking over the city mysteriously disappear overnight, so
that perhaps the boy had somehow been responsible for the nature
gone wild phenomenon. Would LOVE to read this again if
anyone remembers it. Thanks!

Jones, Diana Wynne, Hexwood,1994, approximate. I believe this is
probably the book you are looking for. Given that it's Diana Wynne
Jones, the plot is next to impossible to describe, but the
encroaching forest and making clothes for the boy both ring a
bell. Richard
Grant, Rumors of Spring,1987.I wish that Hexwood was the right book,
but after reading the plot summary on wiki it definitely is not.The book I read was set in a sort of
normal current day setting, with scientists trying to investigate
and understand why the trees were suddenly growing explosively.At the end of the book, the lost boy in
the forest is brought back to civilization and the rapid tree
growth stops (which was a bit sad - it was kind of nice to imagine
the forests overtaking all our cities). SOLVED: Richard Grant, Rumors of Spring. YES!!!!!
Rumors of Spring is the right book! I am so excited I can't
wait to read this book again. Thanks so much!Run Away HomeI am trying to find a wonderful book that I
read from the Boston Public Library in about 1953-55. It was a
children's chapter book called (I believe) Run Away Home and was
set in Britain. An orphan girl had a locket with a picture of
her parents in a Scottish tartan, and she ran away to find her family with only
the colors and pattern of the tartan as a clue. She was
eventually successful. There are many later books with the title
Run Away Home; the book I am seeking is NOT one of the ones by
Aantonia Forest, Jennie Hansen, Pat McKissak, Dorothy Seligman,
Marianne Shock, or Mary Francis Shura. I will be
thrilled if anyone can help me identify and locate this book.

This is only a guess, because I have not
read the book. But Elinor Lyon had a book called Cathie
Runs Wild and I always thought it sounded like it
was the sequel to something. The book described in R24 is
approximately what I always imagined the first book, if indeed
there was one, would be like, and there is a book by Lyon on
abebooks called Run Away Home so it may be the
same one.More on the suggested title - Run
Away Home, by Elinor Lyon, published London,
Hodder 1953, 192 pages. "If you can accept that a 13-14
year-old girl could run away from an orphanage in London, get
as far as Edinburgh without getting caught, fall in with two
children to whom she afterwards finds she is related, but of
whose existence she has hitherto been ignorant, and trace her
home and parentage by the very thin clues provided by a locket
and a luggage label, you may be prepared to enjoy this story.
Of its kind, it is well written, the chief character Cathie
gaining one's sympathy from the first page, Sovra and Ian and
her Scottish relations being equally intersting in a milder
degree, and the background of mountain and loch being wel
realized. It was a pleasant idea to centre the theme on a
well-known quotation from Wordsworth. Miss Lyon's silhouette
drawings are attractive." (Junior Bookshelf Mar/53 p.70)---"Run Away Home" (childrens' chapter book). Set in London
after WW11. Cathy is found alone after a bombing raid, of
unknown family, lives in an orphanage. She reads the lines of a
Wordsworth poem that bring to mind a beach with white
sands. She believes this to be the location of her former
home. She runs away to find her home. Her adventures
lead her to the white sands and her long lost cousins. She
also finds out that her name is not Cathy but Catri. This is the
Wordsworth poem that sets Catri on her journey: "Hence in a
season of calm weather Though inland far we be, Our souls have
sight of that immortal sea Which brought us hither, Can in a
moment travel thither, And see the children sport upon the
shore, And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore."

Elinor Lyon, Run Away Home---I read this British children's book back in the early 1960s,
although it might have been published some years earlier. It is
about a girl living in an orphanage who goes to Scotland (or the
orphanage is in Scotland?). The Wordsworth poem that
reads: "Hence, in a season of calm weather, though inland
far we be, Our souls have sight of that immortal sea....."
figures prominently in the story, having to do with glimpses of
memory that the girl has about her origins, I believe. I
really enjoyed that book, and it caused me to memorize that
segment of beautiful poetry at a young age. I'd love to
know what the book was.

Kesson, Jessie, The White Bird
Passes, 1958, London:
Chatto & Windus. Just a guess - it's about Scotland,
orphanages, and coming of age. It's described as
"autobiographical fiction" and Kesson was "an orphan girl who
wanted to write poetry 'as good as Shakespeare' ", so it seems
like a logical guess.No, I don't think that's it (The White
Bird Passes), but thanks for the suggestion. I
looked it up on amazon, and the description doesn't match what
I remember at all.Elinor Lyon, Run Away Home.
Orphan, scotland, Wordsworth -
it's got to be this one! See the Solved Mysteries.Yes, thanks so much! I checked the
solved mystereis, and this is definitely the book.
Thanks for responding....it had been so long that I thought
this one wasn't going to get solved!

Runaway HomeThis is a story that was read to me in
second grade class in 1954. The main character was a
little girl that went on a car trip across the United States
stopping at various national monuments along the way. I
seem to recall they started up in Maine and had something to do
with puffin Island. Any help would be appreciated.

Elizabeth Coatsworth, Runaway
Home. This bears a resemblance to Runaway
Home, the 3d grade reader from the Alice and Jerry
series of primers. It's about the adventures of a family
traveling with a station wagon and trailer from Maine to the
state of Washington. One of the children is a girl.

Runaway
AliceStory about an orphan girl named Alice, who goes to live with a
farm family. They wanted a boy so at first they don't want
to keep her but they fall in love with her and vice-versa.
At first she had only dresses so her mother takes her shopping for
jeans and so forth. I got this through one of those
Scholastic Book Club catalogs when I was in grade school.

Frances Solomon Murphy, Runaway
Alice. The
original title of this book was A Nickel for Alice.

Runaway
Flying HorseAn illustrated book about a merry-go-round
horse who decides that he's too fine and wonderful to continue
to be a carousel pony and runs away to seek his fortune in the
world as a 'real' horse, but things aren't easy in the real
world. One day he follows the sound of music and finds
himself gazing at the beautiful ponies on a merry-go-round, but
he's badly weatherbeaten with his paint is all worn and peeling,
and he's ready to be thrown on the rubbish heap.

There are an awful lot of stories about
loose carousel horses, though sometimes they take the child
rider along. For example - Arabella of the
Merry-go-Round, by Lois Maloy, published
Hale 1935 "Arabella was abeautiful merry-go-round horse, but she
wanted to travel and see the world. One day Judy and John come
to ride, and when she asks them to take her away with them,
they do. After some adventures, she ends up in a barber shop
where little boys sit on her to have their har cut - and this
she does not like at all!"Later there's - Flight of Fancy,
by Elizabeth Honness, illustrated by Pelagie Doane,
published Oxford University Press 1941 "Fancy, the elegant
merry-go-round horse just could not keep time. When he and
Peter fly off into a pile of hay, Peter takes Fancy home. His
enthusiastic musical parents attempt to instill a sense of
rhythm in Fancy, using seesaw, swing and metronome."Also - The 'Round and 'Round Horse
by Jeremy Gury, illustrated by Reginald Marsh, published
Holt 1943 "is about a merry-go-round horse and the little
boy who rode him through some unexpected adventures."For horses on their own, there's The
Adventures of Arab, by Louis Slobodkin,
published Macmillan 1946, 128 pages "A gay story about a
merry-go-round horse who takes on the duties of a coach horse
and even acts as a saddle horse for a while. Arab was made of
wonder wood and wasn't very comfortable to ride but he was
perfect for some other purposes."In the same year was Sugarfoot and
the Merry-go-Round, by Joe de Mers,
published by Marcel Rodd, unpaginated, "Picture-storybook
about a a carousel horse who runs away to the city." and Gigi
in America by Elizabeth Foster, illustrated
by Phyllis N. Cote, published Houghton, 123 pages "the Royal
Merry-go-Round Horse, traveling along the New England
countryside with a gypsy caravan, joins a merry-go-round on
the Main coast, where he finds a child young enough to talk
with him, and a shipwrecked Rat from the Normandie. Between
them they write Gigi's letters and help him on his way to find
his old friend Lili."Best guess though would be The
Runaway Flying Horse, by Paul Jacques Bonzon,
illustrated by William Pene du Bois, published Parent's Magazine
Press 1976 "Merry-go-round horse leaves the carousel &
wanders on his own. Story of wooden horse on merry-go-round
that wanted to be a real horse, until he found out the life
that real horses led."

Runaway
GirlBefore 1978. I remember reading a book (a story, not a
picture book) when I was in about 5th grade. The book probably
takes place in Australia. It was about a girl who is sent to live
with her Aunt and Uncle out in the middle of nowhere. While there,
the girl is made to do chores and has to wear boys blue jeans. She
runs away, taking her horse and buggy (I think she called it a
"sulky" in the book). She cuts her hair off and pretends to be a
boy. As she drives her buggy (sulky) in the outback, she meets an
old sheepherder man who has sheepdogs and a puppy. I think she
refers to the man as an "Old Drover". The sheepherder gives the
girl the puppy, which she names Gabby or Abby. I hope
someone can figure this one out! This has been driving me crazy
for 20 years, I loved this book.

R Morris, Runaway Girl. (February 1973) I
googled all of the words I could think of trying to find this
book, and I finally got it! It's called Runaway Girl by R.
Morris! I'll check with my library to see if they have a copy,
but I also plan to try to buy this book ASAP. I'm so glad this
has finally been solved!I think the book you are describing is Runaway
Girl by Ruth Morris (1962). I
absolutely loved this book as a child!Ruth Morris, Runaway Girl. SOLVED!! I ordered this book
and it came in the mail already! I'm about 1/4 of the way
through it and it is JUST as I remember it. Thanks for all of
the help with this! It is a treat to finally be reading this
book again after 30 years, really takes me back.........

Runaway HomeI'm looking for a book that I read in the mid-70's, probably
published in the 1960's or possibly even late 1950's. I
think it was an elementary reader, written at about the 3rd or 4th
grade reading level, with similar illustrations to the Dick and
Jane -type books. The stories (or at least those that I
recall) were about a family that was traveling around the U.S.,
probably in a station wagon. I think there were 4 children
(2 boys & 2 girls). I'm pretty sure that they went to
Roanoke, VA, where there was some mention of blue-eyed indians and
vanished colonists. I think they also visited someplace in
New England, during the maple-syrup harvest. They might have
also visited the Grand Canyon, and ridden to the bottom on donkeys
- or I could be thinking of a different book. In one of the
stories, one of the girls (Lucy) discovers an odd-smelling lump
washed up on the beach, dubbed "Lucy's lump" by her
siblings. It turns out to be ambergris, used in making
perfumes, and valuable. She sells it, possibly at a time
when the family was short of funds and needed the money? In
another story, the younger girl traces her nickname ("Pudge") on
the ice with her skates while skating on a frozen pond or
lake. I think she hates the nickname, but does this as a way
of showing her siblings that she can take the joke? Any help is
appreciated!

This is probably Runaway Home,
the 3d grade reader from the Alice and Jerry
series. The family travels from their woodlot in Maine to
a strawberry farm in Washington state, with a station wagon and
trailer (pictured on the cover). On the way, there is an
episode where one of the children finds a piece of ambergris.Elizabeth Coatsworth, Runaway Home. This sixth grade reader, written by Elizabeth
Coatsworth, was part of Row, Peterson Company's Alice and
Jerry Series. It was originally published in 1942 with
illustrations by Gustaf Tenggren. Runaway Home was
reprinted in 1947 and 1949. I loved this book which I read
at school. I always get excited when I go to a a place these
children went to. Even now.Elizabeth Coatsworth (author), Gustaf Tenggren (illus), Runaway
Home (Alice & Jerry series), 1942. Wow, that's
it! Thank you so much for your help!L155 I checked content of this and it IS the
right book: Coatsworth, Elizabeth. Runaway home.
illus
by
Gustav
Tenggren.
Row,
Peterson,
1957,
1963.
a
reader
by
winner
of
the
Newbery
Award
and
other honors Alice and Jerry series; Reading
Foundation

Runaway KangaroosThe second book is about a mother kangaroo
and her baby who leave the zoo and go exploring. They get into a
grocery store and somehow the mother gets a waste basket stuck
on her head...finally the zookeeper comes to the rescue and
takes them back to the zoo. I loved both these stories and would
love to have them again if possible. Thank you for any info.

Eliza Lewis, The Runaway Kangaroos ('62). Jr Elf Book (Rand McNally)

Runaway PancakeThis book is thin and was read in
about 1963. It seems the binding was gray or perhaps yellow. About
a pancake that runs away and I think it is called, "the runaway
pancake."

The
Runaway Pancake, 1956, approximate. I think this tale's Whitman Books version
was the most known.SOLVED: UKNOWN, THE RUNAWAY
PANCAKE.Thank you for the answer! I thought
it was The Runaway Pancake, and you have confirmed that. Can you
find a copy I could purchase? Thanks again.
Great news! Loganberry Books will be in touch shortly.

Runaway RidersPossibly British or Irish, 1940s or 50s. This was a
chapter book intended for children of nine or ten.
The story concerned a family of children, probably British or
Irish, who were avid horse lovers and owned their own
ponies. The book may have been one of a series. My
third grade teacher read this book to us in 1964. It was
probably written in the 50s or earlier, as I think it was her
own book and she was in her mid-20s. I think there were
four or five siblings, one of whom was a crippled
girl. The parents for some reason went off and left the
kids at home, in the care of a mean nanny or aunt or some such
female person. This mean person refused to allow the
children to attend a pony show, I think it was, that they had
been looking forward to. The crippled sister, who was very
sweet and patient of course, arranged to distract the mean
caretaker somehow, while the rest of the children made off in
the night on their ponies, headed cross country for this event
which was evidently a very long ways away. The rest of the
book concerns the adventures of children and ponies as they
avoid danger and evade capture on their long pony trek.

Brims, Bernagh, Runaway Riders, 1963. I'm positive this is it, here is a
bit from the cover: "David and Susan, twin brother and sister,
live outside Belfast, Ireland. For years they have been planning
to enter their ponies in the Dublin Horse show. But a week
before they are to enter the big event, their parents go off on
a trip, leaving the children in the charge of a crotchety old
woman who forbids them to make thir long-hoped-for trip. Full of
gloom, they are sitting on a bridge contemplating the wreckage
of their plans when David has an idea. Why don't they and their
two friends who live down the road just pack up their gear, get
on their ponies and start out for Dublin on their own?" Their 15
year old sister Marianne who is crippled from polio, stays
behind to distract the old woman named Anthea.I'm sure Runaway Riders must be right. I haven't
found it yet, but at least now I know what to look for! I
don't know who knew, but thank you, whoever you are!

Runaway Road'70's or early 80's. In this book, a family is planning a
vacation to the beach. They cram all of their luggage into their
car and start to drive away. Suddenly, the highway uproots itself
from the soil, lifting the family and their car into the air, and
the highway sets off across the countryside, carrying the
vacationers all the way to the ocean. They pass farms, but I don't
remember what else they pass. Anyway, the highway stretches across
the beach and disappears into the water as the family enjoys their
vacation at the beach.

Ian Fleming, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Maybe. In Chitty Chitty Bang
Bang, the dad and the kids and I think the
girlfriend are going to the beach and the magic car starts to
fly and gets them to the beach much quicker.No, it's not Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but thanks just
the same! The highway actually uprooted itself and carried
the car and the family to the beach, where it disappeared into
the ocean. But thanks, anyway!Stan Mack, The Runaway Road, 1980. The Puddle family packs for their
vacation in the mountains, but the road takes a new
course,uprooting itself and taking them past a farm, among other
things. The road eventually goes into the ocean, taking everyone
with it.Yes!!! That's it!!! I've been checking my stumper
every day and was starting to think it might not get
solved. Thank you so much for your solution!

Runaway TrainThe book I used to own was published in the
1930's or maybe 1940's. It concerned a little boy playing
with his electric model train set and was lavishly illustrated
with big black and white photographs. The electric train
traveled into another room and when the boy followed the tracks
to find it, found a switch on his tracks and another set of
rails leading out of the house. He then followed the train
tracks through his neighborhood and had a number of adventures
with the electric train following tracks going through various
situations. In the end, the tracks let back to the boy's
home. Thank you.

Creighton Peet, The Runaway Train, 1943. This is definitely The Runaway
Train by Creighton Peet, c 1943, pub. in NY
by Harry Holt & Co. Judging from a Google search, it seems
to be relatively unknown and hard to find. This was my Dad's
favorite book, and he just gave me all the details!

Runaway's DiaryAbout a girl from Harrisburg Pennslvania
who decides to run away from home and hitchike her way to
Woodstock. She decides to keep a diary of her life. She gets to
Woodstock and later works in a store in Canada. When she decides
to go back home she is hit by a car and dies. One of the
witnesses is a woman who picks up her diary and reads it and has
it published.The girl is buried in Harrisgurg. Thanks

Marilyn Harris, The Runaway's Diary. I think this is probably the one.The book is The Runaways Diary/Marilyn Harris.
Thanks for finding it so fast. I was amazed to see it solved.
---------------------------------------------------------------1970s juvenile book. This was
allegedly the diary and true story of a woman who went by the
name Cat, who ran away from home and lived on her own, mostly in
a tent, until her death.IIRC, she died from natural causes, and
the story took place in eastern Canada in the early 1970s.

I suspect it
had as much basis in reality as "Go Ask Alice", but it was still
a good story.

Marilyn Harris, The Runaway's
Diary,1974, copyright.Fifteen-year-old
Cat Toven leaves her troubled home in Harrisburg, PA, and heads
north into Canada. She takes along a copy of Walden and an
unwanted German shepherd pup named Mike. The book is an account of
her experiences and the people she meets during her time on the
road. She does die at the end, but she is hit by a car, rather
than dying of natural causes. The book is presented as if it were
the diary of an actual runaway, rather than a work of fiction. The
front cover (of at least one printing) shows Cat (looking pretty
grubby and somewhat the worse for wear) wearing a large backpack,
with the now-grown German Shepherd sitting at her fee

Harris,
Marilyn, The Runaway's Diary,1971.Definitely your book,
I read it a long time ago as well and never forgot it.

Marilyn Harris, The Runaway's Diary. I'm the one who submitted
this. Thanks for your responses! Yes, that's the
book.

Running DeerI KNOW I read a book called "Running Deer" when I was aged 10-
13. Which meant it was on the shelves of a U.K. public library in
the years 1943 onward - so was therefore published earlier.
It was about a Red indian boy and I'm sure that it mentioned
"Crazy Horse" and maybe the massacre at Little Big Horn.
Recently I contacted the Couper Institute library in Scotland and
was told that it was writen by Robert Geoffrey Trease, Illustrated
by W. Lindsay Cable and published in 1941. I contacted a
book dealer in the U.K - who said he had such a book. Sent
me a book by G. Trease written in 1982 called "The Running of the
Deer" which is NOT what I wanted. I've checked the
Internet for books authored by Trease and illustrated by W,
Lindsay Cable - and cannot find a single reference to Running
Deer. Am obviously doubting my source so actually unsure
about ANYTHING except the title. This is a book that I
would love to get - preferbly hardcover. Please advise.

Trease, Geoffrey, Running Deer. (1941) This book was published by HARRAP
in London in 1941 and illustrated by Lesley W cableThe British Library
does list this book in its catalog (though without the
illustrator information), and you have the author and date
right. The title given there is slightly different,
however: "Running Deer, etc." The publisher
is Harrap, of London.Wickenden, Dan, Running of the deer. (1937) Running of the Deer by Dan
Wickenden was published by Morrow in 1937. The date would
work. The Library of Congress description says that it is
343 pages long. There are any number of copies available
for sale. One of the sellers could confirm the plot
details.One possibility is Running of the
Deer (1937) by Dan Wickenden.
Unfortunately, I've never read this book and I can't find an
online description. Here are four possibilities you can
probably eliminate: The Tales of Running Deer (1970) by Douglas
Monahan (author) and Andre Ecuyer (illustrator) (published too
late, very short (48 pages), probably a picture book) The
Running of the Deer (1972) by Ewan Clarkson (author) and David
Stone (illustrator) (published too late, plot doesn't
match) The Running of the Deer (1981) by Geoffrey Ursell
(published too late, a play) and Running Deer: Pride
of the Chippewa (1998) by Maggie Damsgaard (published too late,
no evidence that this is a reprint).I'm pretty sure that one of the solutions
offered is absolutely right - the one where "Harrap" is
mentioned as the publisher.

Running
With
The DemonHuman girl who can see things (dark
and light) others cannot. Has a friend who I seem to recall
being a walking stick/similar. She lives with her
grandparents because her mother (same ability?) is
dead/missing. Man with scars/cane sent to protect/aide
her. Important scene at school/church event.

Brooks, Terry, Running with the Demons, 1997, copyright. I'm sure
this is the correct book. Nest Freemark, a 14-year-old girl
in Illinois, has the ability to see the demons that surround
humans everywhere. The demons manifest when someone is
troubled or sad, and attempt to increase that person's
misery. They feed off the sorrows and deaths. Nest's
mother also had this power, but didn't handle it well, and tragedy
occurred. Now, an ancient evil in the town is waking,
drawing John Ross, a Knight of the Word (that is, God, or just the
good side if you prefer), to the town. John carries a
walking stick and walks with a limp. There are several other
books in the series, including Knight
of the Word, which just focuses on John Ross, Angel Fire East, and Armageddon's Children. They
are all pretty dark.Terry Brooks, Running
With The Demon, 1997, copyright. This is
it! Thank you so much to whomever submitted the
answer. I have been looking for this for what seems like
forever.Rupert
the
RhinocerosThe book was a children's picture book
about a rhino who needed glasses. (I think his name started with
a "r"; Seems like he gets rose colored glasses...
after busting his horn several times. All is well and
everyone likes him more after he gets glasses... Do you
remember it?

Carl Memling, illus. by Tibor
Gergely, Rupert the Rhinoceros, 1960.
This is definitely the Little Golden Book, "Rupert the
Rhinoceros," about a rhino named Rupert who charges wildly at
everyone, until an eye doctor realizes that he needs glasses.
The story is also included in "Tibor Gergely's Great Big Book of
Bedtime Stories" (1967), and is available on video ("Golden Book
Video - Jungle Animal Tales," along with The Saggy Baggy
Elephant and The Tawny Scrawny Lion).

RustyThe book I'm actually looking for, though,
is from the late 50s or early 60s, about a little red-headed boy
named Rusty, who runs away from home(?), or possibly sneaks
off to go fishing(?), and whose puppy is eventually
instrumental, somehow, in reuniting him with mommy.....

Sounds close: Rusty Samuel
Lowe Co. 1959, 1977, A Sunny Book, 20 pages, Illustrated by Emmo,
no author listed. "Cute little story about a little boy and his
dog Wiggle."I'm willing to give this a try if you can
put your hands on it; let me know! & thanks SO MUCH
for the service you provide here, not only with your own
expertise in the field, but also in providing a forum that
actually capitalizes on the expertise "out there" in
cyberspace; truly win-win!Based on the possible solution you
provided, I ordered a copy of this book-- it turns out there's
no author listed because "Emmo" is the author/illustrator--
and my mom confirms, yes, this is indeed the lengthy bedtime
story I always wanted! Thanks again!

Rusty's SpaceshipWhen I was young (perhaps 1962), I read a
book about a boy whose name may have been Rusty. He found
a metal disk in his backyard which he nailed to the front of a
homemade space ship. With the aid of the disk, he was able
to travel the solar sytem, visiting each planet as he searched
for the home of an alien stowaway -- which I remember to be a
lizard-shaped creature. It turns out that the alien was not from
our galaxy, but one far away -- perhaps beginning with the
letter A. What is the name of this book?

Evelyn Sibley Lampman, Rusty's Space
Ship, 1957.
That's an easy one - it is definitely Rusty's Space Ship,
about three kids who build a space ship and go travelling around
the galaxy with a lizard-like alien in tow (I think the alien's
name is Tiphia). You can even see the book's illustrations
by Bernard
Krigstein at this site.Thank you so much for your service!
I had forgotten how many of Evelyn Sibley Lampman's books I
read and enjoyed as a child. My children missed out, but
perhaps I can find copies for my grandchildren. Again,
many thanks.